There’s always a part of me that desires to hear some tasty rock music. I enjoy plenty of what the genre has to offer, but lately whenever I sit down to find something new I always somehow subconsciously find my way to more instrumental psychedelic material. Maybe it’s just one of those great mysteries of life, and I’m not complaining! For tonight, the country of Brazil has a tasty morsel that I can once again enjoy. Coming in the form of Galatic Gulag, Brazil has never been trippier.

Sure, I’ve heard the excellent of Jupiterian and the hostile atmospheres that they provide in spades, but that’s the more menacing territory that Brazil has managed to conquer with absolute splendor. What about the side that rock music can call a home for something that’s immensely psychedelic and trippy? Enter, Galactic Gulag. This quartet boasts a sound that is clearly reminiscent of 70s rock as that’s what plenty of psych rock acts can be traced back to, but Galactic Gulag also manages to bring to the table a heap of progressive elements that elevates their debut album of “To The Stars By Hard Ways” a truly interstellar journey of awesome proportions. With each song you hop from planet to planet, one system to the next, and each checkpoint along the way has its own flavors. “To The Stars By Hard Ways” illustrates colorful dunes through brilliant riffs, writhing seas and churning storms through fantastic melodies and pacing, and an immaculate sense of musicianship that makes all these wonderful worlds feel so real to the point where it feels like you can reach out and touch them. Galactic Gulag has created something special – no two ways about it – and a simple listen of “To The Stars By Hard Ways” will show that these guys know what how to create an album that’s both entertaining and wholly worth investigating.

All the pieces are placed exactly what they needed to go, and Galactic Gulag executed every move with masterful accuracy to make their debut album no less than a fucking spectacle that must be heard! I’ve always done my best to remain far and not blow things out of proportion, but take my word when I say that “To The Stars By Hard Ways” is an experience that’s more than worth the money for a CD. It’s top tier quality rock and the kind of shit that should definitely earn Galactic Gulag a devoted following.

LISTEN to “To The Stars By Hard Ways” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Galactic Gulag on Facebook here.