The oddly named production “Psychedelic Battles – Volume One” is a joint album featuring the talents of prolific Welsh band SENDELICA and the material of Italian relative newcomers Da Captain Trips. The album was released in the spring of 2015 through Italian label Vincebus Eruptum Records.
This production have obviously been made with a vinyl release in mind, with album sides clocking in at 23 and 22 minutes respectively. Sendelica provides the material for the A-side with a massive, epic length excursion called Day of the Locust, while Da Captain Trips have opted for three shorter tracks to represent them on the B-side of the album.
Sendelica’s magnum opus here is one that documents the band exploring a rough, raw and dramatic variety of psychedelic space rock. The bass guitar is the central driving element throughout, the rhythms in support are steady and controlled, while an array of guitar riffs, solo runs, while dramatic surging and floating sounds hover on top. At times with a timbre and intensity that borders the unbearable. A massive, overpowering cycle concludes this raw, expressive trip into and possibly through the locust, a challenging but ultimately rewarding run through Sendelica’s home turf.
Da Captain Trips, like Sendelica, have an effective bass line as the arguable main engine in their excursions, but unlike Sendelica their take on psychedelic space rock is one best described as more refined. The instruments are more polished throughout, the individual instruments are rarely if ever providing any sharp, dramatic sounds. Improvised sounding material, just like Sendelica, but with the rough edges smoothed out and with a layer or three of polish applied. If Sendelica is Hawkwind’s “Doremi Fasol Latido”, da Captain Trips is “Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music”.
It is interesting to experience two bands so similar yet so unlike on one album. Both play instrumental psychedelic rock with cosmic and space rock elements, both bands comes across as ones not strangers to improvisation, and at least in this case both bands feature compositions where the bass guitar appears to have a key role in maintaining flow momentum. Those who find descriptions of this nature intriguing will most likely find this production to be well worth acquiring.
My rating: 80/100
