Spanish Moss – Kelp EP

Santa Cruz/Brooklyn psych-outs SPANISH MOSS dropped their Kelp EP in a few different formats back in August, coming from Burger Records on cassette tape and released by Spot-On Sound on limited pink vinyl.

This six track EP lasts for about 35 minutes, challenging us all with a wall of soaring acid-fueled psych rock freakouts, made up with lethal dosages of noisy fuzz, endlessly dazzling guitar work and reverb-drenched vocals. It’s an undeniably heavy sound, leaving you floored in the gripping psychedelic euphoria for pretty much the duration of the whole EP, so prepare for a wild ride. The whole album was recorded completely in analog on a Tascam 388 over a weekend earlier this year without any computer assistance whatsoever, so maybe you shouldn’t waste any more time.

Huge, staggering tracks last for over nine intense minutes, where an opener like “Fuzz Puzzle” is given plenty of time to leave its searing mark with swelling bass lines and countless stunning guitar licks. Right away upon listening you’ll discover the essence of what Kelp is all about, meaning the following 35 minutes will not let you down if you’re all-aboard the psych train – just be warned that train is actually a space ship and you’re going straight into the depths of the cosmos. This raging, psychedelic pummel is shown off nicely in “Space Drugs,” offering up some mangled and wigged-out guitars backed by a primitive drum beat which is only the beginning. These guitars supply us with a messy and electrifying breakdown before they slow it all down for a gritty, psyched-out dirge toward the end, acting as a sort of comedown moment within the song. This slowness eventually backfires in our face, where the fury suddenly reemerges with a maddening guitar hook. They ride out this blazing onslaught with some wet and drippy guitars, assisting in the tracks final colorful swirl that wraps it all up.

This all brings to mind that no matter how noisy or fuzzy this stuff gets, they always manage to retain that slippery, soaked-in-acid sound. This definitely helps show off a commendable level of consistency from the band, only leaving us aching for a little extra. Unfortunately that might not happen right now, but the Spanish Moss still have plans to release a 7″ before the end of the year, as well as an LP sometime next year, so sit tight! In the meantime you can still grab the LP on limited edition pink vinyl, or take the more budget-friendly route and snag a cassette! Win-win!

Genre/ Tags: Space Rock, Acid Rock, Psychedelic, Noise Rock
Kelp LP/CS: Tracklist:
1.) Fuzz Puzzle
2.) Chemical Catherine
3.) Vrill Loop
4.) Space Drugs
5.) Witch Rings
6.) Catherine’s Last Trip

BUY the LP directly from Spot-On Sound – pink vinyl limited to 250 !
BUY the cassette directly from Under the Gun – limited to 250 !
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