The Pop Corporation

They call themselves a Flowerkraut Collective, because inventing genres for yourself is fun, but its a pretty handy Post-It for what the group are trying to achieve – an embellished, psychedelic rock that swerves between global psychedelia, German Kosmiche, and a whiff of Library electronics.

A sprawling array of members that sometimes reaches double-digits, the group have been sure-footed and very impressive with what they’ve done, so it is little wonder that they’re amassing a decent following, and now, with their debut LP – ‘Earth Sized Worlds’ – that’s looking like it’ll continue apace.

There’s a spate of really great psychedelic groups at the minute, but rather than dirty fingernail three-chord Byrds-via-Velvets navel gazing, there’s a thrilling pop edge, bright production, and a sense of wonder and fun. We’ve enjoyed the summery, dreamy music of Australia’s Nice Biscuit, and the day-glo West Coast pop of Pearl & The Oysters – now, taking things a little more cosmic, Mandrake Handshake are not afraid of breaking the five-minute mark on their progressive, interstellar pop.

Kicking things off with ‘Time Goes Up’, the group incorporate jazzy rock with French electronic experimental rock, but instead of being heavy, it’s lighter than air, as all the members on the cut lock in for an absolute beaut of an opening gambit. The song spirals off and twirls around your ears, but this is not awkward free-jazz, rather control chaos all hooked into a fine groove.

The track merges seemlessly into the hypnotic ‘Hypersonic Super Astrid’, which has echoes of motorik beat of Neu! and the electric seances of Delia Derbyshire’s White Noise. While a lot of groups have aimed at German cosmic music, they can fall into repetition too easily – Mandrake Handshake have no such problems as the band propel forward and upwards. It’s really magical stuff.

What’s interesting is that, while a lot of psychedelic groups focus squarely on American and European music, there’s elements of Tropicalia and Turkish psych all over this album. Occasionally, you’ll hear an extended section of music and you’re wondering if this is how good Khruangbin could be if they let the handbrake off and really committed themselves to melting some brains.

Which is not to say that, the group have remembered one of the central tenets of psychedelic music, which is communal dancing and having a good time. People looking for the heavy heavy sound may wish the group pushed things harder and weirder, but for our money, Mandrake Handshake have opted for something more difficult that extended experimentation – they’ve made an album that’s accessible, filled with ideas and hopefully, will endure.

There’s a huge sonic landscape throughout the whole LP, songs bleed into one another, and underneath it all, there’s really, really great songs. ‘King Cnut’ has the commune funk of Brazilian psychedelic rock, while ‘The Change And The Changing’ is like a warm drug cuddle amidst all the star-gazing of the rest of the album.

You’d think, with all these long tracks and skyward looking licks, that you’d end up with an overly indulgent long-player – not so. Listening to the album, it absolutely flies by, and you’ll find yourself wanting to hit play on the opening track all over again.

Vocalist Trinity Oksana really ties each moment of the album together so beautifully, reminding us of the poise Dorothy Moskowitz brings to the United States of America. While a lot of the reference points of the LP obviously nod toward the golden period of psych from the ’60s and ’70s, this is far from some boring, arcane period piece. There’s enough modernity to make the personality of the group burst out of the songs, and they’re almost certainly going to be a wonderful spectacle live.

If you’re looking for a new, fresh voice in the universe of psychedelic rock, this album is definitely something you need to have on your radar.

A superb album, top to bottom.