Now in it’s fourth year Liverpool Psych Fest once again demonstrated why it’s widely regarded as Europe’s premier celebration of all things psychedelic. Our highlights included but were not limited to The Underground Youth‘s propulsive hypnotic brand of psych, Noveller whose sublime atmosphere cinematic soundscapes left us slackjawed and dumbfounded (no change there then) as we marvelled at their pristine beauty. Elsewhere Death And Vanilla‘s haunting set, full of gently pulsating Krautrock beats, reverbing guitars, and the comforting ethereal vocals of singer Marleen Nilsson’ provided a welcome respite from the onslaught of relentless driving ear shredding sonic assaults that could be found elsewhere at the festival. Menace Beach ( are they really Psych ? ) superbly melded noise melody and energy whilst Jane Weaver proved why she’s finally getting the recognition she deserves. And then of course there was Spirtualized, who a fan told us prior to them taking to the stage, can be either shambolic or brilliant, thankfully on this occasion they were the latter.
