In a swirling genre that has never had any concrete boundaries with anything and everything possible on the table, it’s still nothing short of a wonder that psychedelic rock is the garden of magnificence that it is today. From the most tripped-out journeys to lighter bouts that require little more than a simple puff in order to fall into, the genre has become nothing short of an all-encompassing and spectacular sound that is always welcoming creations new and old no matter what style they dare bring to the table. A real embodiment of what the genre can still be in the right hands, it’s in their latest work that Longheads does naught but justice for everything in modern psych rock.

Despite having gotten their start only a few years ago, going through the catalog of Longheads is more than enough proof that this is an act that refuses to sit still for long. Always improving upon their craft and expanding their repertoire to really embrace their sound for what it can be when you think outside of the box and learn from what’s done before while always seeking your own unique path, it’s with the arrival of “Layers of Wax” that this psychedelic band has tapped into something that many of their competitors attempt to do with few succeeding on such a scale we can witness in these eight tracks. Taking into account the naturally expansive nature of psychedelia and combining a tremendous sense of that alongside the heaviness and methodical intensity that we’ve been seeing in recent years from heavy psych bands all over, “Layers of Wax” quickly takes on a life of its own to not just make it an entry of otherworldly splendor that demands to be heard for any supposed aficionado that’s looking for those releases that might slip under the radar of many as the year slowly comes to an end. It’s a real belter of an album that never lets you go once it has you in your clutches, but with all that’s delivered within the vast confines of the record, why would you ever want to leave?

The sort of intensity that psychedelic rock was always built for, Longheads has accomplished here what many others fail to do over multiple albums. Surprising depth, undeniable craftsmanship, and more than enough crevices to uncover fascinating secrets and wonders, “Layers of Wax” has more than enough layers to sift through to keep us enamoring and engaged for years to come.

LISTEN to “Layers of Wax” on Bandcamp here.

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