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Mindwarp

Mindwarp EP

Written by: BV on 19/02/2014 21:41:02

Mindwarp is a primarily instrumental trio from Brindisi. The trio seemingly plays a concoction of psychedelia infused, repetitive stoner-drones with a somewhat melodic edge to it. Having only existed for a relatively short time, this, which is their first EP, portrays the very first outings of a band hell-bent on entering a rapidly growing scene of psychedelic music where, if anything, the competition is getting increasingly tough.

As the EP opens with “Haarko – Haari” I am initially positively surprised. Usually when it comes to instrumental psych-rock, bands often take it as a mandatory duty to create lengthy, almost obnoxiously grandiose tracks and soundscapes. Mindwarp, however, have seemingly placed emphasis on a minimalist soundscape that they have chosen to let loose in relatively concentrated doses. The groovy bass-line of the opening track keeps the listener on the toes whilst the guitar slowly build from a repetitive riff to a vibrant, almost ethereal yet still quite minimalistic lead-sound. It never really seems to get self-indulgent on this track and it all bodes quite well for the continued listening.

However, with “Excuse Me, I Have To Go To Space Now”, the band enters the dreaded territories of repetitive self-indulgence. The track itself actually sounds really cool and matches the title fairly well, in terms of developing a space-laden sound. However, the consistent lack of interesting development in the soundscape is concerning as I already find it strenuous to get through a mere five-minute track on my 6th listen through the album - The exception being the really cool stoner-rock inspired riff towards the last minute of the track. Now that is some catchy stuff!

In essence it would seem to me that Mindwarp should perhaps lean more towards their stoner-esque sound and develop some truly mind-warping riffs, rather than let their proficiency on their instruments drag them into a swamped out, uninteresting plethora of over-repetitive tracks. If the band were to emphasize their stoner sound in a way that would still let them keep the slightly spacy, minimalist approach, they could indeed become very interesting. However, at this point they need something more to truly maintain my attention.

Download: Haarko - Haari
For the fans of: Monkey3, My Sleeping Karma, Luder
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Release date 21.02.2014
Acid Cosmonaut Records