Oxford Art Factory’s main room is no stranger to swallowing revelers and spitting them back out in sweaty, chaotic tangles. Low ceilings, packed-in bodies, and just enough space for a proper melty mosh. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets know exactly how to wield that energy, and their set at OAF felt like a swirling, neon-lit vortex of fuzzed-out riffs inside kaleidoscopic microwave.
Opening the night was Roxferry, a duo who make a hell of a lot of noise for two people. Their set was all biting riffs and pounding drums, the kind of raw, loose energy that could have been ripped straight from some lost garage rock tape. Their sound has that bluesy, swaggering grit, but with enough rough edges to keep it from feeling too polished.
You can always get a sense of a band by the way their fans talk in the in-between moments. Some were deep in debate over the band’s evolving sound, weighing up whether they liked the new direction or not.
Jack McEwan strolled onto the stage so casually during soundcheck that it almost felt like he wasn’t meant to be there. That is, until the front row, mostly made up of quietly ecstatic fans, reached up towards him. “There’s the man,” someone uttered nearby. For a band with fans as lore-obsessed as PPC’s, it was almost surprising how unceremonious this entrance was.
Then came the plunge. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – a name that still sounds like it was yanked straight from a fever dream – wasted no time launching into their signature brand of mind-bending rock. Guitars melted at the edges, drums refused to sit still, and McEwan’s vocals cut through the madness like some kind of cosmic guide. It was dark. You really couldn’t see much. But that wasn’t the point, and everyone knew it. They kicked things off with ‘Surf’s Up’, ‘Nootmare (K-I-L-L-I-N-G) Meow!’ and ‘(I’m a Kadaver) Alakazam’, a perfect trifecta to send the room spinning.
The setlist pulled from across their discography, hitting fan-favourites like ‘Lava Lamp Pisco’ and ‘Found God in a Tomato’. The crowd was locked in, moving as one writhing, euphoric mass. At times, it felt like the whole thing might spin off its axis, especially when they leaned into the heavier, more chaotic sections. But it was all controlled chaos – an ecstatic free-fall, and everyone was grinning on the way down. They wrapped up with an encore of ‘Cornflake’ and ‘Hymn for a Droid,’ leaving behind the wreckage of a set.
Now, PPC are off on a whirlwind 45-show run across Australia, the US, the UK, and Europe, with another 80 dates still to be revealed. Australian fans can catch them throughout this month. From there, they’ll take their signature brand of chaos overseas, hitting everything from Wide Awake Festival in London to Northside Festival in Denmark – all leading up to the release of their seventh album, ‘Carpe Diem, Moonman’, in May.
PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
Thursday 3 April Miami Marketta Gold Coast
Friday 4 April Crowbar Brisbane
Saturday 5 April Solbar Sunshine Coast
Friday 11 April Corner Hotel Melbourne
Saturday 12 April Lion Arts Factory Adelaide
PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES Supported by Grocery Bag
Tuesday 22 April Fremont Theater San Luis Obispo CA
Wednesday 23 April Music Hall Ventura CA
Friday 25 April Catalyst Santa Cruz CA
Saturday 26 April Observatory Santa Ana CA
Sunday 27 April 191 Toole Tuscon AZ
Tuesday 29 April The Aggie Fort Collins CO
Wednesday 30 April Boulder Theater Boulder CO
Friday 2 May Tower Oklahoma City OK
Saturday 3 May Radio/East Austin TX
Sunday 4 May Ferris Wheelers Dallas TX
Tuesday 6 May Brooklyn Bowl Nashville TN
Wednesday 7 May Workplay Birmingham AL
Wednesday 9 May The Social Orlando FL
Saturday 10 May Crowbar Tampa FL **NEW VENUE **
Monday 12 May Amos’ Charlotte NC
Tuesday 13 May Variety Playhouse Atlanta GA
Thursday 15 May Hi-Fi Indianapolis IN
Friday 16 May Headliners Louisville KY
Saturday 17 May Newport Music Hall Columbus OH
PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS UK/EUROPE TOUR DATES
Tuesday 20 May Rich Mix London UK SOLD OUT
Wednesday 21 May Fleece Bristol UK
Friday 23 May Wide Awake Festival London UK
Saturday 24 May Live At Leeds Festival Leeds UK
Sunday 25 May A Stone’s Throw Festival Newcastle UK
Tuesday 27 May Gorilla Manchester UK
Thursday 29 May Paard Von Troke Den Haag NETHERLANDS
Friday 30 May Gleis22 Munster GERMANY
Saturday 31 May Maifield Derby Festival Mannheim GERMANY
Sunday 1 June De Oosterpoort Groningen NETHERLANDS
Tuesday 3 June Tivoli Utrecht NETHERLANDS
Wednesday 4 June Hedon Grote Zaal Zwolle NETHERLANDS
Friday 6 June Molotow Hamburg GERMANY
Saturday 7 June Northside Festival Aarhus DENMARK
