I somehow missed Kikagaku Moyo’s performance at Desert Daze in October. I must’ve been checking out another act at the time. I don’t remember. But it was Day 2. And everyone I know who saw this Japanese psychedelic act said they were one of the highlights of the three day festival. Of course, that totally bums me out, because I missed them. But good news … they’re coming to the Regent in March. So second chances …
Anyway, Kikagaku Moyo, which translates to “geometric patterns,” according to Wikipedia, is not just any old band trying to capture the spirit and texture of psychedelic music. They seem to be mainlining it, tapping directly into the sun-drenched kaleidoscopic rhythms of paisley-stoked eras from days long passed.
“Green Sugar” is the first track off their 2016 album “House in the Tall Grass,” and it’s the first one I heard from them. So logically, it’s the one I’m choosing for this post. And it’s a really good one. It reminds me of memories I can’t possibly have, because I wasn’t even born, or I was too young to know. It’s that kind of music – trippy, nostalgic, folkloric, hazy, droning, hallucinogenic and beautiful.
This track runs close to 8 minutes, focused in its meandering rhythms and whispered vocals. It begins with a guitar bit that feels like its going to explode, then eases off into a dreamy groove, filled with gentle sitar-twangs and a wonderfully hypnotic bassline. There’s a few twisty turns along the way, and then it ends with a fuzzed-out guitar-drenched jam that eases off into silence.
Try taking this trip with Kikagaku Moyo …
“Green Sugar” from the 2016 album “House in the Tall Grass.”
