OUTER HEAD - COSMIC VIBRATOR ..... review

Outer Head hail from Leeds, UK and apart from being able to tell you that they have two very well received albums under their belts, "Cult of Chaos" (2020) and "Delirium" (2023), there is not a lot else we can tell you about them.  You may have already noticed that we are referring to Outer Head as "them" and as a "band" rather than say a one man project and that is because after perusing their social media Desert Psychlist noticed advertisements for gigs. live clips and also a mention of a change of drummer. The sound this band of shady individuals make together is what we are here for though and that sound is an intriguing blend of chugging proto-doom, heady psych and swirly space rock spliced with elements of hard rock, heavy blues. The band have just released a brand new EP "Cosmic Vibrator" which at the time of writing is exclusive to Bandcamp but hopefully will soon appear on all the available platforms. 

The superbly titled "Prometheus Iscariot" begins like the soundtrack to a space themed movie not yet made, its spinning doomic refrain starts low key and slightly phased, accompanied by wordless singing and parping keyboards, and slowly swells in volume and depth with each circular passage, the song following along this pattern until just over the three minute mark when it is joined by clean vocals, delivered in powerful but slightly detached tones and a plethora of swirling keyboard and guitar textures. Effect laden guitar introduces title track "Cosmic Vibrator" a song that owes a huge debt both vocally and musically to Ladbroke Grove's favourite space lords Hawkwind, the vocalist nailing the slightly clipped innate Englishness that was (and still is) such an important component of Hawkwind's sound, and the band as a whole perfectly capturing the swirliness and grooviness of that era. "Atrahashish" sees Outer Head mixing Hawkwind-esque space with Sleep-like weedianisms to create a groove that is the sum of both worlds, heavy and dank in places, swirly and cosmic in others, thunderous drumming and growly bottom end supporting powerful vocals, whooshing keys and bluesy guitar soloing. "Elyon" brings things to a close, the song again boasts a cinematic feel but but unlike the space/horror vibe that permeated opening number "Prometheus Iscariot" this has more of a desert feel its tribalistic drumming, droning keyboard effects and beautifully delivered flute invoke images of white clad travellers riding caravans of camels across endless sands, however it comes as no surprise when the song takes a more "weedian" direction at its midway mark with things starting to get a little heavy and the song taking on a more OM meets Sleep direction, a direction we suspect not too many will be complaining about.

When you think about it doom, a dank dark music played down-tuned heavy and loud, twinned with psychedelic music, known for its garish colours and floweriness, is a match that on paper should never work but it is one that ultimately does. Outer Head's latest EP "Cosmic Vibrator" is certainly proof that doom and psych can co-exist in the same musical space, and while we are on the subject of space there is plenty of that here too. 

Check it out .... 

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