Review Summary: a painter's touch.
God, what an unfortunate band name. Seriously though, it’s a shame a band this alluring and skilled has a name that inhibits them from reaching any sort of commercial success. I guess this is the trend in new age psychedelia, though, with artists like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard flaunting absurd names as if they were apart of the Dadaism movement. It’s no doubt PPC are influenced by their fellow Aussie psychioneers, as well as some of the trendier artists a la Tame Impala and Pond. You can hear traces of Kevin Parker within the reverb drenched production and the astral-projected vocal performances, while splashes of old-school psychedelic rock subtly appear in the aptly titled track ‘Surf’s Up’. Yet, this four-piece carves a path of their own on
High Visceral Pt. 1, and although it might not be apparent in the garage rock-fueled openers, the album soon unveils its true colors: a swirl of rich creams and blurry blues.
These colors never truly get a chance to breathe until the band themselves suspend their energy fueled rampage. ‘Found God in a Tomato’ sees PPC favoring this foggy, shoegaze-inspired style, allowing for the luscious color palette to take form in a 9-minute atmospheric jam session. Although traces of these hues are scattered throughout the entire album, it isn’t until the self-realized and final track ‘Denmark / Van Gogh & Gone’ that the relaxing, warm shades of beige take over the album’s canvas. It’s a track that can only be described as utter bliss; light and floating in nature yet intensely rich and full of lustrous life. As the weightless guitars effortlessly glide through the vanilla clouds in the cerulean sky, the song transcends into abstracted dream pop beauty, perfectly encapsulating the record.
High Visceral Pt. 1 is a trip of an album and although it succeeds in portraying the rambunctious and anxious excitement of the come-up, it’s the intoxicating, hallucinative peak that distorts the psyche into realms of synesthesia.
Psychedelic Paint Composers: a much more fitting name.
