Arcadian Child is a psychedelic rock band from Limassol, Cyprus blending guitar driven psychedelia with cathartic ambience. The band consist of Panagiotis I. Georgiou (vocals, guitars), Stathis Hadjicharalambous (guitars), Andreas Kerveros (bass and backing vocals) and Constantinos Pavlides (drums). Their debut album “Afterglow” arrived in 2017 and was widely acclaimed, “Superfonica” followed and they now have a third release “Protopsycho” due this month.
The first two tracks on the album `Snakecharm` and `Wave High` have a wonderfully middle eastern psychedelic vibe. The former has a real mix of The Tea Party meets Led Zeppelin about it and is quite dark and brooding at times. The latter opens with some enchanting finger symbols before the bass line and drumbeat drives this track along with the lyrics intricately shared atop this heady mix which really rocks out at times. The almost Arabic influence must come from the band`s location situated in the Eastern Mediterranean.
`Sour Grapes` is a delightfully trippy musical cacophony of sound with swirling guitar chords and vocals almost blending into the mix. As you feel you are drifting away the music shifts into a heavy thumping beat for the last ninety seconds or so. The introduction to `The Well` had me in mind of the Doors `The End` before the mood took on a dreamier ambience with some cracking echoey guitar riffs that takes you on a real curious journey of sorts.
There were some truly subtle intricate guitar chords throughout `Bitter Tea` which gave it a marvellously other worldly feel. The tune shifted slightly midway through and gathered a more sixties Hendrix type texture. There was a sleazy hard rock, big riff sensibility about `Bodies Of Men` with vocals that sounded almost remote, nearly distorted adding to the grungy stoner perception.
`Raising Fire` began quite lightly compared to the rest of the album but gained a much heavier identity as it progressed with the last minute or so almost tripping out musically. The album closes out with the title track `Protopsycho` and it`s superbly hypnotic excursion and reminded me of the really quirky and curious stuff that A Perfect Circle offer.
I really loved this album, it`s the sort of thing that really pushes my buttons. It displayed a heady swagger, intricate and sophisticated drumbeats, and guitar riffs along with resolute lyrics. There was enough of a variety of musical styles but not too much as to confuse. “Protopsycho” is an Intoxicating slice of skilful psychedelic stoner rock. What more could anybody want?
Rating 9/10
