MOTHS AND LOCUSTS – HELIOS RISING (Sunmask/noiseagonymayhem Records LP, CD).

Strange things are happening………….Recently landing in our inbox from Sunmask Records was Helios Rising, a new album from the darker end of the psychedelic spectrum from Canadian Heavy Psych/Stoner Rock band Moths And Locusts. A monolithic slab of heavy Psychedelia, Helios Rising is a dense electric soup of the usual influences on this genre and pulls together sounds from Lemmy era Hawkwind, the narcotic netherworld of Spacemen 3 and the Stoner Rock swamps then adds the propulsive beats from early Krautrock to the mix……………..it’s nothing that the seasoned PsychHead would have not heard before but it’s a record full of ideas and well-constructed tunes that is the perfect soundtrack for dissolving into the sofa, stoned immaculate.

A mix of swirling guitars and crunching riffage, Moths And Locusts second album sees the band still “seeking the groove, the melody, the mood, the riff, the racket,” on an infinite quest for musical nirvana and get pretty close on one or two tracks on Helios Rising. The closing track on the A side of the record, ‘Invisible Light’, is a drugged out mantra from beyond the door of perception, twisted psychedelia suspended in time and space that really should go on for much longer than the 6 minutes it has been edited down to fit onto vinyl........there are some genres that are more suited to CD, dense, tripped out Stoner Rock really needs the space to evolve and wind its way to a natural conclusion. After a visit to the 24hr Garage to stock up on munchies and Rizla, the disc is flipped…………and right at end of the second side we find the best track on the record. The title track from Helios Rising is a lush, beauteous closing number that evokes the best of Spacemen 3/early Spiritualized and the Velvet Underground on a serious comedown. An absolutely stunning track that is worth the price of admission alone, with a combination of picked country guitars, hazy psychedlia and a choir of massed voices………it’s the Cowboy Junkies if they were actually cowboy junkies. Although not stunningly original, there are enough cool tunes on Helios Rising to keep any PsychHeads interested………well worth checking out.

Released on 7^th July jointly by Sunmask/noiseagonymayhem Records, Helios Rising will be available in a variety of formats………………..the vinyl version comes in a limited run of 450 copies with 300 copies on clear/white vinyl and 50 copies on black vinyl, there will be 50 copies on translucent blue vinyl available directly from Moths & Locusts only and 50 deluxe copies on black vinyl with silkscreened poster only available from Sunmask via Discogs. The album is also available on CD through noiseagonymayhem records and Moths & Locusts.

For more info about any pre-release sales for this record, best check the various band/label websites and these links for distributors.

Sunmask Records (CAN) https://www.discogs.com/seller/sunmask/profile

War On Music Records (CAN)   http://waronmusic.com/

RED Distribution (US)   http://www.redmusic.com/

Cardinal Fuzz (UK)   http://cardinalfuzz.bigcartel.com/

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN