A Swiss take on psychedelic rock, progressive rock, and blues rock is always guaranteed with the under-appreciated trio Dirty Sound Magnet. On their fifth album, they stay true to that wonderful blend and, unlike many bands, they can retain their identity and originality while calling on the past for their influences.
The latest release, Dreaming In Dystopia is no exception … try the oh-so-clever opener ‘Melodies From Distant Shores’ and welcome a song that has hints of Velvet Underground within their own unique sound. The title track may lean toward the Floydian with a soupçon of Beatles but it is so good you can only respect how these influences are handled so subtly.
‘The Tragedy Of Men’ mines the psyche of the 60s in a brilliant fashion. ‘Utopia’ is an acoustic, approaching Western soundtrack musically, but lyrically is bang up-to-date and genius. ‘Lost My Mind’ is a (purposely) discordant delight.
The best is saved for last as the suitably longest track, ‘Insomnia’ starts slow, like a Barrett-era classic, before the great bass line cuts through to some superb slide guitar work – But beware, the lyrics will keep you awake at night! It’s a brilliant track with so many elements that you must hit repeat repeatedly to fully appreciate it all.
A great album building brilliantly on their past releases… let’s hope this one brings them more recognition. They are touring across Europe in October with some UK dates in November before heading back to Europe and gigging solidly through to 2024.
Dreaming In Dystopia is released on 20th October 2023.
