High Rise - Psychedelic Speed Freaks (1984)

| Psychedelic Rock | Noise Rock | Garage Rock |

This is the first release ever by either High Rise and the P.S.F. label, and it's pretty much exactly what you expect. High Rise's is pretty known for its mindblowing noisy, fast and loud rock - and all these piece are here. But there's something more in the puzzle this time; there's the Lo-Fi recording. The sound is melting everywhere, and the bloody-bass lines are simply burying all the other instruments. The furious, shrieking, motorcycle-ish guitar is notably trying to escape from the dense blackhole that Asahito's bass has become, and from which both the vocals and drums have been caught. The drumming is so buried under the bass that every cymbal crash sounds like it's been distorted by a fuzz pedal. The vocals are very likely to the other records - lots of reverb and all that well known Asahito's singing -, but the lo-fi really gives it a "something more" touch - as on the whole album. I really find this one of the most interesting albums not only from HR's discography, but from the whole underground japanese scene. The highlight is doubtlessly "Take a Trip", one of those 10min long psych-guitar trips that High Rise does so well, and, of course, "Psychedelic Speed Freaks".

Catalog: PSF-1 (P.S.F. Records)
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