While the trend of heavy psychedelia in recent times is absolutely something that I’ve come to love and constantly lose myself within, it can sometimes feel as though we need a band to come around that can inject something different into the mix. A little bit can go a long way in a sound that is already doing a lot even in the simplest of its creations. In the right conditions, anything can be possible. When Carbon Decoy went to craft their latest creation, it’s clear that the act was dead set on making something we don’t receive often enough.
In this particular instance, I’m really allowing the term “heavy psychedelia” to pull a lot of weight. What’s put forth here is anything but a work that can be easily likened to bands like King Buffalo or Rezn as there are more factors at play here that make a work like “Crush the Sun” something that is undoubtedly more down-to-earth while constantly evoking an otherworldly sensation. Quickly, Carbon Decoy sets itself apart from much of the competition with the intoxicating blend of acid rock, garage-born ruggedness, and more than a little bit American gothic to make the record not just a deeply dimensional effort, but something that’s constantly beckoning you deeper as the riffs, rustic nature, and undeniable groove burrow into your skull one track after another. These eight tracks are downright hypnotic! Carbon Decoy offers us a blend of a sort that feels very niche and specific such that unless it was right in front of us, we would have no hope of pinning it down in a way that can fully encapsulate what we don’t know we need. Much like how River Cult offered us a gorgeously rough blend of this kind of rock last year, it’s here that Carbon Decoy does much of the same thing with “Crush the Sun” setting the stage for Carbon Decoy not just ushering in a new vision of tripped-out heavy rock, but showcasing in stupendous fashion all that the genre can still summon.
Unpolished at times and outright filthy from beginning to end, you can’t shake the feeling that there just isn’t something quite right about what Carbon Decoy puts forth. Yet, the execution of “Crush the Sun” feels so paradoxically clean, and it doesn’t even feel out of place one bit. Carbon Decoy has not been around that long but it’s clear that they’re already well on the path to doing something truly fantastic with this album a massive step in the right direction.
LISTEN to “Crush the Sun” on Bandcamp here.
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