If you are a regular reader of these pages then you will already know that we at Desert Psychlist have a high regard for the underground rock music emanating from the continents of South and Central America, however if we had to pick one country from those two continents that has consistently delivered the music our riff battered ears demands and has excited us the most then it has got to be Chile. For a country whose government once prohibited all forms of rock music (1973-1990) the growth of the Chilean underground scene over the last ten to fifteen years has been nothing short of phenomenal. One of those band who have taken full advantage of this, still relatively new, artistic freedom and has impressed us the most are Curico combo Inche Kai Che, the bands self-titled debut, "Inche Kai Che", not only blowing Desert Psychlist's mind but also the minds of some of the scenes top reviewers, podcasters and influencers, the album going on to grab a very respectable and well deserved #8 spot on April 2022's monthly Doom Charts. This year the band, Vito (guitar/vocals); Jony (drums/backing vocals) and Diego (bass), return with a new album, "Transmutación", get ready for to have your minds blown once again!
Title track "Transmutación" kicks things off by opening its account with a low bouncy, bass motif accompanied by steady tight drumming and some effect laden weirdness before the guitar comes in and the band fall into a fuzzy circular stoner groove with echo tinted vocals (Spanish) wailing over the top. So far so good but then we reach the songs middle section and things get really interesting with the band launching into a passage of lysergic ambience and hazy serenity that would give some of the bigger hitters in this field a run for their money, liquid guitar textures and shimmering arpeggios underscored by an undulating and spacious bass and drum groove, the band only returning to a heavy dynamic in the songs dying stages. Next comes the uber stonerish "Caer es Volar" a deliciously dynamic full on hard rocker decorated in strong vocals and boasting chunky crunchy guitar textures driven by four to the floor rhythms. Now if this was how the song progressed to its conclusion you would not be unhappy, in fact you would probably be applauding but that is not how Inche Kai Che do things and so we are treated to another of those trippy. dippy and utterly gorgeous lysergic middle sections, this one even better than the last. There is a hint of doominosity to next song "Ancestral" that is neither proto or traditional flavoured, if you were forced to describe it as anything then you would probably opt for hazy otherworldly blues doom, whatever you decide to call it there is no getting away from how damn good a tune this is! Its back to chunky guitar riffage for the instrumental "El Retumbar" only this time that riffage is by joined by rolling bass refrains and punchy on point percussion, probably the best thing about this song is the chances it gives each member to take their moment in the spotlight, chances they do not squander, probably the worst part of this song is that it has to come to an end. Penultimate track "Destino" boasts a catchy easy on the ear melody set against a jerky hard driven bluesy hard rock groove, a groove that serves as the perfect vehicle for the soaring and equally bluesy guitar solos' that decorate it. All good things must come to an end eventually and Inch Kai Che close their good thing with "Sagan" a sprawling and atmospheric opus that just seems to get better and better the longer it is playing, the song trading moments of liquid like serenity with moments of spiralling intensity to create a sound embodying much the same feelings of vastness and spaciousness that the great Pink Floyd once achieved with their song "Echoes", and if you think that last statement is a bit over the top then go back and listen again, this song is really that good.
If Inche Kai Che's "Transmutación" was a jewel it would be a radiant cut diamond, bright and shining with many facets, if it were a food it would be Ambrosia, divine and spiritually uplifting. It is however merely a collection of songs on an album....but what a magnificent collection of songs and what a stunning album it is.
Check it out ....
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