Letter 2 - The Sights and Sounds of Punk & Psychedelia
Punk and psychedelic records, and classic films to watch alongside.
Hi,
This week’s letter is focused on recently released music influenced by two cultural movements - punk and psychedelia - and some good films to accompany them.
One preliminary point - generally I’ll use the “For fans of” sections to highlight acts or films you already know over lesser known choices, even if the lesser known is better aligned with the recommendation. So if you have any similar acts or films I’ve not mentioned, please stick them in a comment below - although you should listen to and watch all of my recommendations regardless of their alignment with your tastes…
If you’ve enjoyed reading this, please subscribe below, or if there’s someone you know who you think would enjoy this, please share it with them.
There’s also a comment section below - please let me know if you listen to or watch any of my recommendations, even if you hated them!
I’ve you missed Letter 1 - Indietronica is Back Baby, you can read it here.
You can listen to a playlist of the songs I’ve recommended on Apple and Spotify.
However I will say that I’m intentionally recommending entire records that should be listened to as single piece, and not shuffled and subject to dodgy algorithms, so please do consider listening that way instead.
Much love, Odhran x
Music - Recent Releases
Amyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness
Genre(s): Punk, Pub Rock Hardcore.
For fans of: IDLES, Mannequin Pussy, Viagra Boys.
Songs to try: Chewing Gum, Jerkin & U Should Not Be Doing That.
At the release of this album, with the Aussie rockers selling out out 3 Roundhouse gigs next month, supporting Fontaines at a sold out Finsbury Park gig next July and having just announced an extra gig at the 10,000 capacity Ally Pally to end their world tour, Amyl and the Sniffers are perched just outside the top tier of mainstream success that a (non-pop) rock band can reasonably hope to achieve in our current cultural climate - a tier populated by a handful of bands like Fontaines DC and IDLES.
You’d be forgiven for expecting a band in this position to release some radio-friendly music and to make a slight departure from the aesthetic vulgarity their popper-referencing name suggests, but upon pressing play on Cartoon Darkness, any such expectations are immediately blown out of the water when frontwoman Amy Taylor belts out the opening lines “You’re a dumb cunt” on the first track Jerkin, or indeed when glancing at the album art.
Somehow Amyl appear to have made what is surely to be their most commercially successful album without betray their schooner-throwing Melbourne pub rock attitude, but that doesn’t mean it walks the same path as their previous two albums:
The production quality is a significant step-up, sounding cleaner and sharper - likely the impact of recording with Nick Launay (producer of Joy as an act of resistance by IDLES and various Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds albums) at Dave Grohl’s 606 Studios, using the same mixing console as Nevermind by Nirvana.
Amy’s somewhat abrasive feminism and positive gender-politics thankfully remain the prominent theme of the record, but are accompanied by an additional theme of what Amy describes as ignoring the “critical internal voice” and turning the “external naysayers energy into fuel”, on tracks like U Should Not Be Doing That - possibly a reflection of the band’s experience of Australia’s “tall poppy syndrome”.
The lyricism, despite often nestled in juvenile context, contains a depth and complexity beyond their previous albums, demonstrating the bands’ maturation. Thankfully despite this maturing, Amyl haven’t lost their sense of humour and this might be their funniest album with tracks like Tiny Bikini which in only a handful of hilariously written and delivered lines, nimbly tables Amy’s internal conflict of wanting to embrace her sexuality on stage without feeling objectified.
The is also occasional change of direction musically too, with Amy’s singing and the gentle guitars on the shoegazey & REM influenced Bailing On Me.
Big Dreams is the best example of the above - a chuggy 90’s ballad about, as described by Amy, “The fact that our generation is spoon-fed information. We look like adults, but we’re children forever cocooned in a shell. We’re all passively gulping up distractions that don’t even cause pleasure, sensation or joy, they just cause numbness”.
I’ve not had much time with Cartoon Darkness given it only came out on October 25th, but it feels like Amyl and the Sniffer’s graduation into the big time.
Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp
Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
Genre(s): Psychedelic Pop, Psychedelic Rock & Hypnagogic Pop (non-derogatory).
For fans of: The Velvet Underground & Nico, Tame Impala & Beach House.
Songs to try: Diamond Jubilee, All I Want Is You & If You Hear Me Crying.
Cindy Lee is the drag queen persona and one-person band of Patrick Flegel, formerly of Canadian band Women, and has released what might be the best album of 2024.
I resisted including this last week as I thought starting this newsletter by recommending a 32 track, 2 disc & 2 hour (much-maligned and largely defunct) Hypnagogic Pop album which was only available via free download on a GeoCities page, or in an unsegmented YouTube video, might come off as pretentious, and anyway it came out in March so is hardly a recent release. However as of October 23rd, Diamond Jubilee is available on streaming via Bandcamp, and for vinyl pre-order, so here we are.
Diamond Jubilee is a hazy half-memory of lying on a velvet couch in 1960, listening to pop music crackle through a transistor radio, whilst mourning or yearning for a lost lover. It’s a dream of a dream set in sepia tone. I’m not sure any album has so immediately transported me to a time and place that neither me or the songwriter have experienced, nor has any album running to over 120 mins felt like such a breeze.
Apart from frequent harmonies and psychedelic guitar melodies, the record’s production is so stripped back that at times it strays close to the worst of various Hypnagogic-spawned lo-fi genres like chillwave, but I think Flegel mostly gets this balance right, and the passiveness of some of the tracks is actually comforting. A host of these tracks sound written for a 50s, 60s or 70s movie soundtrack, like the nostalgic All I Want Is You. There’s nothing really in here that approaches “banger” territory, but there’s enough fairly catchy hooks you don’t miss it.
I’ve mostly avoided any reviews as it’s taken me so long to get around such a packed record, but if you want more context, I recommend this Pitchfork review I read recently read (which gives Diamond Jubilee the highest Pitchfork score since 2020).
The forthcoming vinyl is very expensive, and moreso in the UK, so if you want to buy it you could consider using the cheaper EU seller I’ve linked below. It’s not available on Apple Music or Spotify yet, but I would imagine that will follow the various “Best Album of 2024” lists Diamond Jubilee will inevitably top.
Bandcamp - GeoCities - YouTube - Cheaper EU Vinyl Seller
Goat - Goat
Genre(s): Psychedelic Rock, Funk & Afrobeat.
For fans of: Led Zeppelin, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard & Mdou Moctar.
Songs to try: One More Death, Goatbrain & Dollar Bill.
If Diamond Jubilee lulls you into a trippy dreamstate over the course of 2 hours, then Goat’s self-titled 6tth album spends 41 minutes waking you the fuck up.
Goat are an unusual band, claiming to be from a remote Swedish town called Korpilombo known for voodoo worship. The band are anonymous, always dressed in some kind of tribal pagan garb. Musically, although primarily a psychedelic rock band, they are not bound by genre, interpolating tribal beats with Hendrix-style guitar riffs. The screaming female vocals on tracks like One More Death conjure up images of a tribal call-to-war, whilst Goatbrain and Dollar Bill feature more funk and pop elements than their previous releases.
This is likely Goat’s most accessible album, but it’s not a departure from their roots nor a leap into the mainstream. If trippy guitar riffs are your bag, don’t miss one of the best releases of 2024 (and listen to their 2012 album World Music whilst you’re at it).
My sole complaint is that I cannot be bothered with a band self-titling their 6th studio album - it’s giving late millennials using Quizzee Rascal as their pub quiz team name.
Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp
High Vis - Guided Tour
Genre(s): Hardcore, Punk & Britpop.
For fans of: Fontaines DC, IDLES & Oasis.
Songs to try: Mind’s a Lie, Mob DLA & Feeling Bless.
If you’re into bands with shouty northern Englishmen, then oh boy do I have the record for you. Regardless of the rest of this record, stop whatever you’re doing right now and listen to Mind’s a Lie, its penultimate track. Undoubtedly one of the best singles of 2024, with the angelic voice of DJ Ell Murphy’s contrasted with frontman Graham Sayle’s screaming scouse vocals, creating something truly unique.
Outside of Mind’s a Lie, the album is a continuation of High Vis’ ability to sublimely blend their core punk and hardcore elements with external elements, like brit-pop melodies on Feeling Bless.
High Vis’ lyricism remains socially-centred - songs about struggle and despair in a broken system not designed to help people who need it. My favorite lyricism on this album is on the blistering hardcore track Mob DLA, in respect of which Sayle, who has a brother who has autism and cerebral palsy, said “years upon years of public service cuts have had a devastating human effect on communities in the UK. People are forced to justify their need for assistance, made to endure dehumanizing tests in order to monitor their eligibility for support for lifelong disabilities Marginalized communities are left to fend for themselves then vilified in targeted media smear campaigns. This is all happening in the shadow of ever increasing bonuses and salaries for the political and industrial elite and their friends. I have seen this in my own family. The stress of people simply trying to find space in a world which increasingly feels designed against them is palpable. And through it all, I’ve seen the power of community action in the face of sustained neglect.”
If you have ever moshed or headbanged, you need to listen to this record.
Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp
Some similar records I recommend
Tess Parks - Pomegranate: A psychedelic indie-rock album from the London-based Canadian singer-songwriter, filled with trippy dreamy vocals with lyrics clearly written from a pretty dark place. Give Koalas and Lemon Poppy a listen. Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp (Fuzz Club Records).
Gurriers - Come and See: A September release from the Irish post-punk band that went relatively under the radar. A record with relentlessly high energy guitars and drums - think early-Fontaines but more agro. Listen to Des Goblin & Top of the Bill. Spotify - Apple Music - Bandcamp (No Filter).
TV & Film
Psychedelic Cinema
Twin Peaks (1990 - 1991), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) & Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
Genre(s): Mystery, Drama & Thriller.
For fans of: (nothing is really like Twin Peaks, but) The Sopranos, The Leftovers & Atlanta.
UK Streaming: Paramount+
While psychedelia is not really a prominent feature of Twin Peaks (Dr Jacoby aside), the surrealist, dreamlike and often nightmarish tone of Lynch and Frost’s creation, set in the cosy, nostalgic americana of the Pacific Northwest, makes it the perfect companion piece to Diamond Jubilee and Pomegranate - 5 stars.
The Trip (1967)
Genre(s): Drama, Comedy.
For fans of: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Easy Rider & Human Traffic.
UK Streaming: for free on YouTube.
Few hippy or psychedelic films were actually released in the 60’s, with the decade more influencing surrealist and psychedelic releases in subsequent decades, so this Roger Corman directed and Jack Nicholson written film released during the Summer of Love, starring Peter Fonda as a man taking acid for the first time, stands out as the quintessential psychedelic ‘60s film. A little schlocky at times, but some of the examination of the human psyche in a bad trip is really forward thinking - 3.5 stars.
Easy Rider (1969)
Genre(s): Drama, Adventure.
For fans of: Midnight Cowboy, Into The Wild & Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
UK Streaming: Rental only.
A landmark film regarded, alongside Bonnie and Clyde, as beginning the New Hollywood era. Written & produced by Peter Fonda, directed & written by Dennis Hopper (also in The Trip), and starring Fonda, Hopper and Jack Nicholson, it features bikers smuggling cocaine, meeting hippies and taking acid. It was a revolutionary use of US counterculture in a successful mainstream film, and paved the way for the success of films like Taxi Driver. The soundtrack is legendary featuring the psychedelic rock of Jimi Hendrix, The Electric Prunes, Steppenwolf and The Byrds - 4 stars.
Fantastic Planet (1973)
Genre(s): Sci-Fi & Animation.
For fans of: Spirited Away, District 9 & Brazil.
UK Streaming: Pluto TV (free streaming platform, available via Apple TV)
Probably the trippiest experience I’ve had in the cinema. A 72 minute animated journey to the planet Ygam, where one race of advanced humanoid creatures treats Ygam’s smaller race of humanoid creatures as pets, slaves and prey. Some of the most creative and captivating imagery ever put on film - 4 stars.
2001: Space Odyssey (1968)
Genre(s): Sci-Fi & Mystery.
For fans of: Annihilation, Arrival & Sunshine.
UK Streaming: Rental-only (worth seeing in the cinema).
Kubrick’s sci-fi epic, billed under a tagline “The ultimate trip”. Much of 2001 makes no sense on first viewing, and even less sense on further viewings, but this is one of the greatest and most important films ever made. Due to some dodgy ape costumes and other dated special effects, it feels like a film from both the future and the past, and its influence on surreal films, and position as a seminal text for all sci-fi films, is clear as day. It remains completely mind-blowing on every rewatch - 5 stars.
Punk Pictures
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Genre(s): Comedy-Horror.
For fans of: Shaun of the Dead, Evil Dead (1 & 2) & Zombieland.
UK Streaming: Amazon Prime & freevee.
Given its almost Halloween I’ll start with a horror, albeit not quite as frightening the films I recommended in my last letter. A comedy horror about a warehouse owner, his employees, his mortician pal and a gang of teenage punks trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. Despite being a spoof of the zombie genre, it invented several tropes we expect as standard today (e.g. zombie’s eating brains and only vulnerable to their own brain being destroyed) the punk and hardcore soundtrack is an all-timer - 4 stars.
Romper Stomper (1992)
Genre(s): Drama, Thriller & Action.
For fans of: American History X, Clockwork Orange & This is England.
UK Streaming: Rental only.
Russell Crowe’s first starring role is a good companion to Cartoon Darkness. A d violent story story set in Melbourne’s 1980s Nazi subculture. Influenced by Clockwork Orange, and inspirational to American History X, the politics of Amyl presents an interesting contrast to the characters in Geoffrey Wright’s ultraviolent romp - 3 stars.
Repo Man (1984)
Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Comedy.
For fans of: They Live, RoboCop & Back To The Future.
UK Streaming: Rental only.
Cult classic directed by Alex Cox and starring Emilio Estevez as a down-and-out punk, and the always majestic Harry Dean Stanton as a repo man who takes him under his wing a surreal black comedy where Emilio is caught up in an alien conspiracy. A satire of US consumerism and Reagan’s america, with a hardcore punk soundtrack composed by Iggy Pop - watch for Emilio’s little earring alone - 4 stars.
Also check out Alex Cox’s next film Sid and Nancy (1986), a biopic of The Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious (played by Gary Oldman) and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.
This is England (2006)
Genre(s): Drama, Thriller & Crime.
For fans of: Trainspotting, American History X & Boyz n the Hood.
UK Streaming: Channel 4 & Sky.
When it aired Shane Meadow’s film and its sequels felt like the biggest TV events in history - I’m not sure how much much importance they really hold in UK culture today, but this remains a fantastic and brutal movie, worth revisiting - 4.5 stars.
I, Daniel Blake (2016)
Genre(s): Drama.
For fans of: The Old Oak, The Wind That Shakes The Barley Maid.
UK Streaming: Channel 4 & Sky.
Not a punk film at all, but I couldn’t recommend an album with the social commentary of Guided Tour without a paired film. Ken Loach’s second Palm D’or winner is a brutal and honest portrayal of life in the UK on the poverty line. As someone who grew up far from food-poverty, watching I, Daniel Blake was transformative and eye-opening, and I’d implore everyone to watch it - 4 stars.
(Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault & Abuse)
Bad Boy Bubby (1993)
Genre(s): Drama & Comedy.
For fans of: Beau Is Afraid, Room & Poor Things.
UK Streaming: not on any platforms currently, but google is your friend.
Not for the faint hearted, a man held in isolation and abused by his mother for his entire life is subsequently severely mentally impaired. He breaks free into a rough area of Adelaide. Many more horrific things happen to or around Bubby, but he also accidentally joins a punk rock band as a major plot line of the film. This is one of the most horrifying films I’ve ever seen, and it haunts me to this day - 4 stars.