Review Summary: Psychedelic rock instinctively done right.
Is there really any one way to accomplish proper psychedelia? The term itself is so broad that it can be referred to as clanking pieces of glass or even a washing machine. But, in this case, we’re specifically talking about the vein of rock; one of the oldest genres of the 19th century. And yet, we have such an expanding variety; so how does one know what is good vs. that, which is not? Well, already being highly subjective in its roots, the goodness I’m speaking of is, are you being moved out of your comfort zone yet still feeling a sense of satisfaction at the end? Well I highly believe that Atomic Simao’s
Nodo has all the workings of a classic, stone-cold effective release that both takes you places you haven’t been and still makes you feel right at home as if the occurrences contained here-in were meant to be, if that makes sense. Try to imagine an exotic island that’s never been explored before. You know you’ve never been there but you innately know how to pinpoint the beauty surrounding you. That natural sense of notability is exactly what Atomic Simao’s reciprocating as they go to great lengths trying to build on the foundation of mind to music connections that once flourished greatly in the 70’s. A foundation that is currently experiencing a revival period of various acts rising up, craving that feeling of euphoria through sound.
Atomic Simao are a fresh new psychedelic ‘space-rock’ band from Kiev/Ukraine, formed in 2012. With their first release
Nodo, they, through sole instrumental techniques, take the listener through a spacious journey of colorful landscapes with delayed guitars, electronic discharges, and groovy bass-lines all backed up by a stellar drum performance that is constantly taking different forms and rhythmic avenues. In fact, the drumming of Sun is one the highlights on this album. His ability to show variability and breadth is quite soothing. Take for example the lengthiest track “Asteroid Masterpeace”, inching over 17 minutes. Sun utilizes a technical, yet effective drum-roll jazz technique that is both fun and zoning during the first few minutes which then switches to a mellow spacey minimalistic drum-vibe until the percussions completely fade out, leaving only the sounds of guitar/keyboard effects before jumping right back in with a fresh new groove. “Do What You Do” follows up the 17 minute excursion with Sun working the ride with pristine ability which serves as a perfect plate for guitarist Janovsky to lay out his full meal of soaring-melodious leads that seems to penetrate the psyche so effectively as if he’d found a hole leading directly to your endorphin storage house.
I appreciated the flow of
Nodo very much. The opening “Voodoo Chillum” starts off rather unexpectedly. Rather than slowly building up like most psychedelic records this track jumps right in full force as if it were a death metal album. Some may find this to be a turn off but for the antsy person this abrupt beginning might be enjoyable. I personally didn’t mind it one bit. As this opener ends, the second track “Beauty Does Not Belong to Anything” serves as a bridge to the epic 17 minute follower in a mellow-like fashion. There’s just enough variation through each track where “Do What You Do” feels like a chugging train on a mission, whereas “Stoned and Spontanuis” feels like you’re in a subway watching the world around you pass by like you’re moving in slow motion but your surroundings are not. Then, almost seamlessly, you’re taken to a far away galaxy away from all civilization, floating in the entrenches of weightlessness. “Dancing Emptiness” is a great closer as it is mellow and holds true to Atomic Simao’s ‘space-rock’ tag. It’s the perfect closer as it quite nicely brings the whole album together. By this time, if listened to properly,
Nodo should have you in a rather deep trance and this track just kind of lets you sway back and forth as if left buoyant on a calm, yet warm, sea of eternalness.
Nodo is fantastic display of psychedelic rock done right and should be sure to please any fan of the genre whether new or old. With this freshman release being this good from Atomic Simao I can only imagine what they’ll accomplish in the near future.
