In 2011, four mates decided to form a band, which they now describe as “Angus & Julia Stone on shrooms”. Honestly, with the psych-tinged melodicism that shines through on the new record, it’s hard to argue with that assessment.
Old Boy takes its time to build, like all great psych records should, plonking elements of spoken word and slow-building synth into the opening tracks before finally unchaining the soaring vocal melodies and crunchy solos over the chugging drums of ‘What Was That’.
From there, the record gradually unfolds into a glorious burst of melancholy vocal harmonies and stop-start rhythms, mostly avoiding the all-too-common psych trap of just piling on the reverb throughout. Instead, the lion’s share of the pedals are saved for the perfectly-weighted dollops of lead guitar that dart in and out.
New single ‘Dirty Brain’ flies closest to that familiar psych fuzziness, the first real wall-of-sound the record throws at you and one that is not at all unwelcome as a final punch before the rollicking outro fades to spoken word yet again
Old Boy is an EP that, in truth, approaches the territory of mini concept album, a cohesive but varied little bundle of tracks that all work together to build to a satisfying end over almost half an hour. In a landscape littered with bands that adhere too strictly to a suddenly-popular psych formula, Shady Bliss show that there’s still life left in the fuzz.
To celebrate the release, Shady Bliss will be playing the very awesome Deadlam showcase at Brissy’s Brightside on November 4 alongside The Drones and a huge lineup of talent – Dirty Brain is out now via Bedlam Records, and you can give it a spin below.
