The Cult of Dom Keller - The Second Bardo (2014)

Psych-rockers Cult Of Dom Keller impressed us all last year with their debut LP on Cardinal Fuzz, a label which has established itself as a safe pair of hands in the last couple of years with releases from The Heads, Lantern, Vision Fortune, The Shine Brothers and more. Now they're back again with LP number two, 'The Second Bardo', which features 10 more hits from their concise hypno-rock bong.

These lads are rocking a persistent, fuzz-laden psych-pop style from the school of bands like Spacemen 3 and the Jesus & Mary Chain. The rhythm section and vocals lock into a monotonous churning, grinding juggernaut chug reminiscent of hypno-psych contemporaries Dead Skeletons, but the raw blown-out distorto guitar licks that slice over the top are more in the territory of The Heads or Aqua Nebula Oscillator when they really get going. 'Beyond Burning Skies' has a dual guitar splatter that'll rip your face clean off.

They know how to take it down a notch, too. Mid-album breather 'Heavy And Dead (Demo Version)' alternates between a slinky minimal drum and bass groove and vocal croon and clever sampling, all coated in sticky, greasy reverb, and a chorus which lifts everything with a droning organ chord and a guitar that's distorted into a dirty treble-heavy buzz. If you enjoyed their hypno-riffing distorto-pop first time round, this is more of the same but even more grandiose. And if you've not checked them out yet, what are you waiting for?