Album Review: Nebula – Heavy Psych

You will rarely find an album with a more apt title than Nebula’s record Heavy Psych. It’s an album full of, wait for it, heavy psych. However, it’s not just that simple. Nebula, from the City of Angels and borne out of the demise of Fu Manchu, has honed a most appealing blend of the swirl of late 60s psych rock with ballsy, driving hard rock. The result is striking, and very, very loud. To give you more of an idea, they’re somewhat akin to Black Mountain, but with more of an emphasis on the rawk, and wouldn’t be out of place at a show with Dark Meat, though they’re not quite as, well, out there. While no less expansive, they seem a bit more structured.

Things get going right from the word go on Heavy Psych. First track “Pulse” is full of intricate guitar play, from crazy frenetic riffs to more focused, studied solos. It’s just one of the tracks that demonstrates Nebula’s ability to veer from one of the spectrum to another, sounding like Motor City rebels one minute and San Fran trippers the next. “Aphrodite,” third song on the album, is a true gem. “Woman,” howls frontman Eddie Glass, “set me free/I’ve done my time,” and it is staggeringly, ferociously sexy. The song is pure rock, distorted most magnificently through fuzz and noise. I’m also pretty well enamored with “In The Depth’s,” and love the line “cuz in my head/everything’s alright/in my mind/everything’s alright.” It, and the album as a whole, is heady, disorienting, and intoxicating.

Heavy Psych is not for the faint of heart. If you’re into, say, all twee all the time, you’re probably going to be a little afraid. And rightly so. But for fans of balls-out, full-speed ahead rock, you couldn’t do much better than Nebula. They’ve pulled the best bits from all the greats and whipped up one hell of a sonic magic carpet ride. And yours truly is pretty much in deep smit. Far out, brothers and sisters. Far fucking out.

mp3: Aphrodite (Nebula)