Ganglians - Monster Head Room

Acid folk, psychedelic lo-fi, forest pop. Brand them how you will – Ganglians couldn’t care less. The Sacramento ensemble’s latest offering Monster Head Room is as absurd as its moniker. Dipped in honey smothered harmonies and blessed with more hooks than a Peter Pan casting session, this is a record that sees out hazy, smoke-filled nights.

Slow-building opener Voodoo surfs in with a languid, infectious bassline and swelling Hawaiian rhythm before finishing with orchestral aplomb. Lost Words’ hand-clapping breeze and the tireless carousel of Candy Girl continue the thrill, veering headlong into Valiant Brave’s Tarantino-fuelled rollick. Of course, such blinding pace has to relent and cuts like 100 Years and Cryin’ Smoke flap along as nothing more than mid-album stodge. But any longstanding discontent is washed off by the cosmic jangles of closer Try To Understand. On form like this, Ganglians are just how they like it: defiantly indescribable. [Billy Hamilton]