Psyence: Orange Vinyl LP

"Years of the graft have put PSYENCE in the position where they are now ready to release their self-titled debut album. “Psyence” is a ten track romp through thundering psychedelic alt rock. Channelling the spirit of Stoke, the group reworked many of their live favourites alongside local producer Sam Bloor, and mixed and mastered by Santi Arribas (Gang of Four, Hotei). It is a sonic feast for old fans, and a crystallisation of everything that makes them the banner bearers of their hometown for new ones. Jay says: “our debut album is an intense chemical reaction of face melting riffs and groove laden tunes. It’s a product of many years toiling away in back room venues and countless hours in vans. It’s a working man’s release. Tune in. Drop out.”

The alleycat swagger of opener ‘Cold Blooded Killer’ sets the tone. Its tumbledown riffs are sliced with effortless blues licks as it chronicles the quotidian struggle to achieve meaning in our lives. The stacked riffing of ‘Black Hole’ is whipped by spiralling guitar lines that help the band draw us deeper into the song’s event horizon. ‘Into The Unknown’ then takes the band into curiously Madchester territory with its danceable grooves and a riff so infectious you’d have to be quarantined in a cell made of penicillin to get it out of your system. Buoyed by its subtle and penetrating harmonies ‘Come Closer’ offers a change of pace for “Psyence”. They transcend the parameters of shoegaze to give us stargaze before tearing tearing the song