Psych/Garage Rock preorders

Review: Rain Parade's 1985 release marks a defining moment in the band's journey, offering a blend of jangly guitars and psychedelia-laced textures that epitomise the era's alt-rock tendencies. Hailing from Los Angeles, the band delivers a turbulent mix of influences, ranging from the baroque to the brittle, with a certain disjointedness that reflects their internal struggles. The production, led by Steve Gronback, offers a spacious sound that gives space to the atmospheric instrumentation, but the lack of cohesion leaves some tracks feeling as though they're searching for a purpose. Highlights like 'Depending on You' showcase the band's potential, but the overall effect is one of a group caught in transition, unsure of where they're headed. Tracks such as 'Mystic Green' and 'Gone West' encapsulate this feeling of aimless wandering, while 'Invisible People' stands out as an example of the band's unique blend of folk and psychedelia. Though compelling in parts, this album never fully realises its promise.

Review: Kyoto punks Les Rallizes Denudes denude us of our pretensions with this live recording, taped on July 30 during a brief stopover on route to the Sunset Carnival in Ishikawa. The psych-noise band's lineup at the time included founding members Takashi Mizutani and Takashi Nakamura, joined by Hiroshi Nar (ex-Zunou Keisatsu) on bass and Sami (aka Toshiro Mimaki) on drums. Captured on a Marantz cassette deck with internal mics, this is a raw recording of a power-psych show of force, and despite deleting album cut 'The Last One', it's been as sensitively restored as possible by Makoto Kubota. Jittoku 76 offers a notably different set from '77 Live, containing early versions of 'Dream Again Today' and 'Carnival', not to mention a bruising rework of 'Hibiscus Flower', dragging the track into heavier in-the-moment territory.