QUIETLY working to their own, slower calendar in the Vale of Neath since the 20th flipped to the 21st, Wales’s El Goodo offer up pebbles of psych-folk-country goodness for anyone who steps through their door. We should trust their hospitality.
Take that name. Yes, of course it namechecks Big Star. How can we not be in safe hands with someone who gets Big Star?
And Welsh psych. It’s the correct thing. Let’s pause for a moment and salute the majesty of Gorky’s, and hope someone reissues the vinyl soon so we don’t have to pursue that remortgage.
And the core quartet, vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Pixy, drummer Elliott, and vocalist and guitarist Jason – all Joneses, patronymically speaking – along with bassist Andrew Cann, are ready to unleash their fourth long-player since their self-titled first for the Super Furries’ Placid Casual imprint 15 years ago.
They’re leading in on their August LP release, Zombie, with “The Grey Tower”; and what a miniature garage-psych pop odyssey it is.
It opens on an insistent bassline and vamping guitars; chelsea boots are polished, Sky Saxon’s essence flows. Punchy freakbeat is the order of the day. There’s a shift through surf garage textures and on into proper acid psych atmospherics circa 68; it climaxes in hard patchouli fuzz. It’s the last four years of the 60s, sonically, condensed into one tune; and as you can see in the video above, there’s even dogs, everywhere – keeping goal, surfing, skating.
The band say of “The Grey Tower”: “[It’s] one of the newer songs on the album, written post-kids.
“It’s about being a new parent and having to work long hours in a job you hate and wondering why you’re doing it when you should be at home.”
The album, which is released on August 7th, comes with Julian Cope and Spiritualized man Thighpaulsandra at the faders. Valve amps, guest woodwind from Stephen Black, aka Sweet Baboo, and even the Univox (the early synth used by Joe Meek on “Telstar”) are come-hithers. It looks like it’s gonna be a hell of a nugget.
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