Psychedelia is often associated with big guitar parts, lots of reverb, and a sound that’s at once surreal and epic – I guess that’s the heritage left by bands like The Doors and Pink Floyd. But there’s a less grandiose, more playful and varied current of psychedelia, more interested in the bizarrely kaleidoscopic side of dreaming. Forged and explored in depth by The Beatles, it was rehashed most famously by Olivia Tremor Control at the turn of the millennium, and less famously (but brilliantly) by XTC with their side project The Dukes of Stratosphear in the mid 80s. This is the sonic ground were Brooklyn’s Cloud Becomes Your Hand draws inspiration, adding to the mix their penchant for crooked, almost jazzy melodies, which place them on similar songwriting terrain as other heavily experimental but gentle sounding NYC bands like Dirty Projectors and Celestial Shore (both past Deli Records of the Month). These elements make of "Rock of Cakes" a psych-pop album without pop melodies (therefore not really pop music) but nonetheless extremely imaginative and enjoyable. Stream the full album here and see the band live at Roulette on Sunday 03.02.
LINKS: John McGovern Interview with Cloud Becomes your Hand.