Holy Mushroom's sophomore album conducive to meditating, medicating

Pink Floyd, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, these are just a few of the influences the members of Oviedo, Spain's tripped out foursome Holy Mushroom cite as inspiration for their psychedelic psilocybin lovin' anthems that comprise the new album Moon.

Moon, a spaced-out sophomore trip at 44 minutes in length, consists of five songs, largely instrumental in nature, although bassist Alex Castro does sing on occasion.

Let's dive right in.  The first offering is a trippy little ditty titled "La Caverna" which translates as "The Cavern."  It begins with a bit of Spanish dialogue from a film, I believe, though I'm not certain what movie it is from.  The Spanish speaker says, "Al salir y ver al fin / Aquella sucia tarde de otro tiempo / El sol azul por vez primera / no era el sol, sino nostros.*"  What that roughly translates to is:

          "Going out and seeing at last / That dirty afternoon of another time /
          The blue sun for the first  time / It was not the sun, but us."

A peculiar passage for certain, one to ponder upon if you're partaking, or meditating, as you sit back and let the sounds of Holy Mushroom flow through you.   The jazzy guitar and airy percussion work, along with a soulful bass line, bring this tune together as it builds and builds and finally explodes into a Floyd-esque guitar solo.  Then the percussions go a tap, tap, tap like rain on a tin roof, before a drum roll and then another scintillating solo, one maybe borrowing more from Jimmy Page this time rather than David Gilmour.  All in all a tripped out, fuzzy and and full on psychedelic ride.

Drummer Pablo Argüelles really shows his jazz chops and keyboard player Enol Cuesta tickles the ivories on "Birdwax Blues."  This is one of the few places where Castro stretches out and expresses himself vocally.   He has a a distinct European singing style.  What I mean by that is that traditionally, Europeans have treated the voice like a musical instrument itself.   His delivery is nasally and to me at least, that is problematic.  Reading through fan criticisms on YouTube, the ONLY negative thing ever said about

this group is when it comes to the vocals.  A few negative comments pepper the YouTube comments section about the said vocals.   The vox, however, are not the dominating aspect of Holy Mushroom by any stretch of the imagination.

Don't believe me, keep listening beyond "Birdwax" and you'll become a believer.   The nearly 13 minute long epic "The Preacher" follows and it is magnificent in its slow, elegannt  climb.  Floyd like in its opening, with dreamy keys and bass.  Yes, Castro does sing a bit, but it's a minor distraction here.  Just listen to that bass and it builds and scales upward.  When Alberto Arce joins in on guitar for a little tease then fades back into the mix you long for him to cut loose.  Well I assure you, it's coming, in bombastic style, it's coming.  He breaks back in from time to time to let you know he's still there, then with six minutes left in the song, there's a pause as the bands collects itself it seems.  When they kick back in the jam is different, with Arce taking more of the lead role.  A few more lines of vocals near the end and were done.  Whew!  A near religious experience is "The Preacher."

The song "Eufrates" was previously released as a single, but just in case you're not familiar with it yet we'll hit the highlights.  The first couple minutes the band plays light jazz bits, building for what is to come, which is a tribute, if you will, to many of the bands the inspire them.  At the two minute mark I'm hearing The Doors plain and simple.  I can picture Ran Manzarek on the keys, John Densmore working the kit and Robbie Krieger on guitar here.  Then around the three minute mark the band shifts gears and channel their inner Pink Floyd for a little over a minute.  Psychedelic sounds of Rick Wright's keyboards, Nicky Mason's skins, the bass of Roger Waters and guitar work of David Gilmour shine through, with around three minutes left in the song Arce breaks free and its time to pay respects to Hendrix.  The band closes it up in the final minute with an all out jam.  This tune is the album's centerpiece in my opinion, a stupendous piece of work.

Finally, we reach the closer, "A Grand Finale In the Blind Desert."  The opening riff actually reminds me a little of the Bond Theme.  There are some other complexities going on around the riff, drum rolls and fills, and a bass line, but still, it insists itself upon my memory until the tune rearranges itself a bit about three minutes in.  I actually am reminded of many of the desert set films I've seen, Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and others.  At 3:45 the tune changes again, to almost a festive atmosphere, and the saxophone joining in the mix REALLY reinforced the movie memories.  A snazzy little solo flare to finish and the album comes to a close.

This is a brilliant album to just throw on and relax to, not a complete psychedelic freak out, but a definite light mood enhancer that will mellow you right the fuck out if you're having a bad day or just need some time to decompress.  Have a drink, or if yo live where it's legal, something stronger, and enjoy Holy Mushroom's Moon.  95 out of 100.

Excerpted from the band's press material:
Holy Mushroom is a Heavy Psych band from the north of Spain.  Formed in 2016 by four musicians from 19-23 years old, it combines classic sounds of the sixties psychedelic music with modern styles. 

*Spanish dialogue provided by Holy Mushroom, translated via Google Translate, after my own paltry Spanish skills produced a VERY BAD translation.

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