Psychedelic Porn CrumpetsMore than any of Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ past works, And Now For The Whatchamacallit feels like an adventure, the kind of record that makes you forget there’s a floor beneath your feet. It’s a cohesive, well designed whole with sky-high production values. But while it’s hard to find a weak track given the band’s love of jarring notes, complex structures and tendency to fly off at multiple tangents, it’s perhaps short of a stadium-filling anthem. Social Candy comes fairly close to fulfilling that order though, with its triumphant strut and Brian May-esque soloing.
Still, there’s a strong suspicion that the live treatment of these psychedelic jaunts will be even more effective, given their call-to-arms energy and lack of obvious verse-chorus, verse-chorus arcs. A case in point would be Bill’s Mandolin. It’s an unabashed riff-fest but also has a touching backstory, dedicated to frontman Jack McEwan’s grandfather and the treasured instrument he passed onto his grandson. It’s one of a number of album highlights and an exhilarating demonstration of how Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ explosive energy can meld complex, contradictory parts into one sprightly, fluorescent trip.
