the Quietus:I Saw The Fourth Horse: Liverpool Psych Fest Reviewed - At the sixth mind-expanding Scouse gathering, the vibes are apocalyptic but the grooves are wild. Featuring Gnod, The Black Angels and more:
Ye gods – what a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride of a week that was! The president of the USA loosened bowels the world over during his inaugural speech to the UN by actually threatening the wipe a nation state off the face of the earth. It’s hard to shake the feeling that disturbed estate agent Donald Trump isn't selling advertising space on the sides of the ICBMs pointed at North Korea having already sold exclusive TV and sponsorship rights to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, our own prime minister attempted to re-establish her authority over that blubbering bowl of fuck that is her foreign secretary so she can drive off the Brexit cliff and into the economic abyss just as she sees fit.
What’s needed at the end of such a hair-raising few days is a weekend of respite, an escape from a world seemingly hell-bent on destroying itself amid the slurry of nationalist bullshit and dick waving by narcissistic psychopaths. Right? Well, yes and no, because if you’re someone who views psychedelia simply as a form of escapist entertainment then clearly your third eye is still firmly shut. As the best bands at this year’s Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia deftly display, altered states of consciousness and the music that they inspire are less about temporarily exchanging one perception of reality for another and more about creating alternatives to the here and now having seen what truly matters.
Read what they have to say about GNOD & Pigs: the Quietus
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