Journeys Through The Psychedelic Hinterlands Pt.1: Synthesized Glossolalia & Possibly The Greatest Photo Of A Band Ever Taken

I will actually get off my arse and do a proper long update post in the next few days, but in the meantime, enjoy this rare photo of the Concrete Rubber Band, bonkers psychedelic jesus freaks from Kansas, who specialized in synthed up, bible-bashing acid rock in the late 60s/early 70s, self-released one album that sold fuck-all and now goes for several trillion (insert local currency here) should, by some miracle (sorry), a copy turn up. Not that it's worth it, most of it's a bit shit, but it is worth tracking down a download of for the two tracks "What Shall We Do?" and "Wicked", the first of which storms in with a very unchristian sounding monster of a fuzzguitar solo over bubbling Arps and stupidly echoing drums before slowly morphing into a beautiful moody harmony vocal over a slow west-coast chug. It's "Wicked" that's the killer tho, a variation on the Bolero rhythm beloved of psych bands, pushed along by really repetetive krauty piano and organ stabs and smothered in wibbling, wubbing and womming synths and outrageously ring-modded guitar. It's fucking great and kicks the United States Of America's collective dick in the dirt as far as mixing electronic music and psychedelic rock goes, plus it contains a dirty great pitchbending burp of an analogue synth solo. The rest of the album has occasional flashes but just doesn't come close to those two songs, plus even though they mention Jesus approximately 800 times in each song, they don't sound like they mean it enough, and they try a bit hard with the song titles, which include such gems as "Christian", "Hosanna", "Risen Savior*", and my personal favourite, the stunningly original, "Jesus". All of which lack the pious simplicity of the greatest title of any religious record in history, the unforgettable "I'm A Mormon". If it's real fire and brimstone stuff you're after, the acid-rock equivaent of Ian Paisley, may I suggest you check out Moon Blood by Fraction, particularly the tracks "Eye Of The Hurricane" and "Sky High" which would sit rather nicely alongside early Pink Fairies, Shiver, Peacepipe and the like on any discerning soul's trashy hard-psych mixtape.

*They're American, of course they can't spell.

Coming soon: Part 2: Journey Into The Stone Cave With Moogs At The Ready To Battle The Technicolor Kebab, Or Maybe Something Else Because I'm Bound To Think Of A More Stupid Title Before I Write It...