Rating: 8/10
By Kieran Webber
The Japanese psych-folk outfit Kikagaku Moyo have recently released their ‘Stone Garden’ EP, which follows 2016’s highly praised album ‘House In The Tall Grass’. Recorded in a basement in Prague and refined at their home of Tokyo the EP takes a more experimental route in comparison to their previous release, dropping the psych folk and bringing forward pulsing psychedelic rock rhythms.
The opening track ‘Backlash’ holds no bars throwing you into a dizzying whirlwind of psychedlia that is overlaid in static and driven forward with pounding percussion. This is followed by ‘Nobakitani’ which acts as a throwback to their previous release, a more calming folk infused psychedlia track that is harmonised beautifully with the sitar. However harmony is only present for fleeting moments due to the following tracks ‘Trilobites’ and the dastardly infections ‘In A Coil’, both songs infusing transcendent guitars with thrusting percussion.
Improvisation and experimentation has always been at the heart of Kikagaku Moyo‘s music but their ‘Stone Garden’ EP boasts it more than any of their previous releases. It is a stunning collection of psychedelic tangents that leaves you hanging on for more, the EP will have to suffice for now but it certianly has me eagerly awaiting for their next LP.
Listen and purchase the ‘Stone Garden’ EP here:
You can also catch Kikagaku Moyo at the following dates:
June
20 – UK – London – Moth
21 – UK – Manchester – Deaf Institute
22 – UK – Leeds – Lending Room
23 – UK – Brighton – Hope & Ruin
August
27 – UK – Green Man Festival
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