Deadpeach were formed in 1993 in the town of Cattolica, Rimini, Italy and create a heavy and heady mix of late 60s/early 70s psychedelia, fuzz, and hip guitar-slinging hypnosis. A true underground band with their loose, blues driven lysergic rock proving deadly in live doses, the band is often compared to the likes of Dead Meadow and Blue Cheer. Their latest album `The Cosmic Haze and the Human Race` is released to the world this month and vocalist/guitarist, Giovanni Giovannini has shared that “This project represents a unique sonic experience where our musical influences, spanning from stoner to heavy and European psychedelia, converge to create an exhilarating journey. Our objective is to transcend the boundaries of the traditional ‘one riff album’ and immerse the listener in a diverse range of musical emotions. We wanted the album to take you through unique sounds and atmospheres, and meticulously craft each track to provide an engaging and stimulating experience.”
The album opens with `Madras` with heavy riffs and a rhythmic drum beat leading us gently in. The song is mid-way through before vocals join and take us on a meandering journey with a fairly hypnotic guitar solo. The track seems to be a pilgrimage from Benares also known as Varanasi to Madras now known as Chennai but like the spice named after the city, it`s sweet, savoury, and earthy. We have a pulsing drumbeat that drives us along what feels like a motorcycle ride or trip on `Motor Peach`. We enjoy some cracking rolling drums from around the midpoint as guitars join in and lead us astray before we return to our original path and cruise along.
`Man on the Hill (The Fisherman and the Farmer)` is a tale of a simple but solitary life shared over a heady trippy nigh of psychedelic vibe ending with some intoxicating organ tones. The town of Cerchio in the province of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy is the title for the next number. But `Cerchio` can also be interpreted as circle and this number does seem to loop around sonically. In the last ninety seconds vocals join and give the number a sensation of early Pink Floyd when Syd was the ringmaster.
`Monday` is a relaxed, nigh on trance like reflection of the joys of Monday, the first day of the week, the day of the moon and a day usually portrayed as a day of depression, anxiety, avolition, hysteria, or melancholy (mostly because of its association with the first day of the workweek). But here it`s associations are much more positive. We have in `Rust` a fast paced rock out with vocals that are sprinkled atop it`s groovy air.
The album closes out with `Loop (Set the Control to Mother Earth)` which seems to awake softly from a kind of slumber as we are encouraged to set our course to Mother Earth and maybe focus on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it.
I have to say `The Cosmic Haze and the Human Race` really gelled with me and I found it totally magnetic, absorbing and at times spellbinding. It runs at around the thirty five minute mark so won`t envelop your life to any great extent.
Deadpeach who are Giovanni Giovannini (guitar, vocals), MrSteveman (bass) and Federico Tebaldi (drums) along with the aid of Daniele Bartoli (guitar) have created a delightfully compelling fuzzy psychedelic soundscape that will really suck you into its complex depths and juicy, fruity layers.
Rating 9/10
