UK psych rockers, Psychlona are set to unleash their third long-player, Palo Verde, their first on Psycho Waxx, the in-house record label of the Psycho Las Vegas Festival, timing the release for the opening day (19th August) of the 2022 iteration of the festival which has been creating musical mayhem in the desert since 2013. The band are also appearing live on the opening day.
Psychlona, for those unaware, is an English stoner/desert rock band formed in Bradford in Yorkshire, England. The band consists of Phil Hey (guitar, vocals), Dave Wainfor (guitar), Martyn Birchall (bass), and Scott Frankling (drums).
Following on from 2018’s Mojo Rising and 2020’s Venus Skytrip, Palo Verde sees the band add a new and exciting brand of musical finesse to their armoury, taking their sound to a heavier, yet more nuanced level. Long-time fans should not despair however, as the signature riffing still takes centre stage.
Three songs, 1975, Rainbird and La Tolvanera have been released prior to the album launch and tease what is to come on the remainder of this superb album.
Gasoline opens the album with an incendiary, screeching guitar attack, and the album just piles on the pace until taking a left turn on the magnificent and epic Purple River, the track which, for mine, highlights the growing skill set of the band, both in terms of musicianship and songwriting.
The last track of the album, Warped, turns out to be its’ major highlight, however. An out-and-out bone-crunching rocker (and at 7 minutes duration, the longest track on the album) Warped catches the classic Psychlona sound and takes the listener out to a place to which they would surely want to return (hey…..let’s listen to that all again……and again).
Palo Verde is the perfect follow-up to Mojo Rising and Venus Skytrip, giving Psychlona a catalogue which proves that the band is not only still on top of their game on this their third outing, but are fast becoming firmly entrenched amongst the best in the genre.
Palo Verde is released on the 19th August, with the vinyl being available for pre-order at Psycho Waxx while the digital download is available through the band’s Bandcamp page.
Feature Image: Supplied
