RIDE, the latest effort from Toronto psych rockers, Hot Garbage, effectively mends core elements of 60s and 70s psych music, post-punk and desert rock with otherworldly textures, sometimes in a vaporous way, other times with quaking soundwaves. Along its 33 minutes, the foursome takes the listener through a multitude of terrains where cinematic soundscapes await behind the initial haze of reverberations and fuzz-heavy riffs.
Also featuring guest musician Sam Maloney from Kali Horse on auxiliary percussion duties, the 9 track full-length is both challenging and approachable, the songs taking on many forms, genres and styles, rooted in psych rock and post-punk, but also speeding through motorik krautrock, hinting at surf rock and flirting with crafty garage tropes. It is not only surprising because of a gutsy flow, it is quite literally a sonic maze where you can get lost for just over half an hour. Within its corridors, listeners are presented with lyrics tackling complex themes like the afterlife, depression or freedom, but can also just rejoice in soft mantras and uplifting verses.
Produced and mixed by Graham Walsh from Canadian electronica band, Holy Fuck, and recorded mostly live off the floor to better capture the band’s raw energy, RIDE is all at once dread, beauty, wonder, horror and mystery. From its initial feedback storm, all the way to its mystifying title track, Hot Garbage’s first full-length album will please psychedelic music aficionados, but also fans of Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine or CAN.
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