Whenever I consider the very specific but ever-tantalizing realm of instrumental psychedelic rock, I always have two acts that I constantly find myself comparing the rest to unconsciously: My Sleeping Karma and The Re-Stoned. They have long been the pillars of how I approach the niche sound, but the world is filled with many surprises that are constantly catching my off guard. To sit down and come upon a fresh name to my mind that comes from that same style gets me excited for what potential excellence there is to be had, but nothing could’ve made me ready for what Stone Machine Electric brings forth here.

There are few things that get me more excited in any form of music than to see songs within an album be much longer than what’s typically the accepted norm. Add on top of that this delicious style that almost never seems to run out of ideas or soundscapes to pioneer, and a 20-minute song is everything that I could ever need from a release like this. But it’s within this album with an essay for a title that I found excellence the likes of which demands to be more widespread for it has the genius, tenacity, patience, talent, and undeniable quality that any single person could ever beg for out of this style. Stone Machine Electric brought an amplified version of the slow burn to demonstrate something that immediately takes a hold on the soul and imagination to produce a grand sense of euphoria that permeates every second of “The Inexplicable Vibrations” to make for an experience next to unforgettable. It’s throughout this extremely rich album that we’re given sounds that have vast range in their visions that vary greatly from fuzz-wreathed riffs that are, of course, intoxicating, ethereal notes that have an iron grip on the listener as we slowly ascend through the heavens to see sights nigh on awe-inspiring, rhythms that often remind me of what a psychedelia-infused version of Alien might sound like, a terrific live performance that really shows how well this act sounds on stage still, and the simply grand musicianship that cannot be considered anything less than monumental in all of its mastery over such a sound that can easily slip through the grasp of many purveyors. “The Inexplicable Vibrations” constantly shows us across just three tracks that this is a band worthy of being considered one of the best of their kind with this effort potentially being the last need-to-know destination in all of psych-rock for 2020, and I highly doubt anything could take that crown away.

When it comes to albums like this that have come out of virtually nowhere to deliver something that I was not ready for in any form and will surely find myself falling into time after time it can be narrowed down to one description that quanitfies such a creation better than anything other: a boon. For that’s precisely what Stone Machien Electric has done here in spades! Every factor of this release is a boon upon the entirety of psychedelic rock to provide us with another name that deserves to be hailed as one of the best of their kind, and with plenty of material before this I wouldn’t be shocked to find this band has been slaying the competition under the radar for some time. But, no matter what, one thing is more than for sure: the next time I go into the world of instrumental psych-rock, the highest bar will no longer be adorned by just the two aforementioned name, but, rather, three.

“The Inexplicable Vibrations of Frequencies Within the Cosmic Netherworld” releases on December 4th via Desert Records!

PRE-ORDER “The Inexplicable Vibrations of Frequencies Within the Cosmic Netherworld” on Bandcamp here.

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