Rolling into the crowded psych landscape, Philadelphia’s Ecstatic Vision have tapped into a captivating realm of arresting tempos, cartwheeling guitar solos and shout-out dancefloor exhortations.
The reference points are fairly distinct, the most obvious being their amplified extension of Hawkwind’s gauzey improvisational layering, alongside the twitchy repetition of latter-day EDM. The album’s unqualified centrepiece is …To The Astral Plane – a transfixing 12-minute headtrip through a frenetic matrix of pulsating drum-and-bass grooving that bursts into a pummelling, rave-friendly gallop at the two-minute mark.
Don’t Kill The Vibe showcases a punchy cadence awash in waves of echoey, reverb-drenched guitars. The grooves are physically irresistible, although by the end of the second song, you’ve essentially heard 90% of the record. Lyrically the prognosis is grim, boasting couplets like, ‘When your [sic] free you will find/Life can be a good time.’ But if you’re looking for a bouncy respite from reality, then Sonic Praise will do quite nicely. Also great for late-night, neighbour-bothering afterparties.
