Hard-hitting spook-psych from the heart of Greece, Social End Products return with a strong début LP after their 2011 EP-release, Ego Trip. - Review written by Daniel Sharman.
Released in: 2 May 2013
Genre: Garage-Surf Psychedelia/Acid Punk
Record Label: Radar Eye Records
Medium: Digital download, Vinyl LP
Recorded at: Feedback Studios
Recently, I was fortunate to be sent vinyl copies of both of Social End Products' record releases, Nutre Tu Cabeza and Ego Trip. After giving Nutre Tu Cabeza several listens, I thought I would share my thought's on the record for the whole world to see, and to try and give this record the love it deserves!
The whole of Nutre Tu Cabeza has a consistently relaxed-but-taught vibe, striking the perfect balance between the sinister edge of classic, spooky psychedelia and upbeat, far-out funk trippery. Boasting a track listing of 14 songs, Nutre Tu Cabeza clocks in at around 30 minutes, each song being a short psychedelic burst of about 2:30 minutes.
The LP makes good use of its combination of a large number of tracks and short song durations, demonstrating the band's ability to express different musical nuances within their own developed sound. Throughout the record you can hear influences form genres such as garage, surf, psychedelic rock, acid punk, folk, country, and more.
Sonically-speaking, Jangling Vox guitar rhythms and blown-out fuzz leads litter the landscape of each track, giving Social End Products a distinctly...European-psych sound. It is this mix of garage, low-fidelity instrumentation with a sheer love of, and conviction, in what they are preforming that gives European bands like the Social End Products an authenticity that I think can sometimes be lacking in contemporary American psychedelia.
Each track deals most typically in acidic and sombre lyrical territories: deserts, strangeness, women, ect. Like most garage rock, this lack of lyrical innovation actually adds to the listening experience, as the experience in and of itself is made much easier to digest and get engaged with thanks to this aforementioned simplicity. This ease of engagement is also certainly aided by the groovy basslines which thump through the tracks, and the high-octane drum beats which pulse behind most of the tracks (providing the previously-mentioned half- upbeat skew of the record).
Tracks like 'I'm Strange' and 'Slit Your Wrist' take the listener in one direction with slicing reverberated leads, but then change direction when the basslines and backing rhythm guitars elevate the tracks onto other levels of energy that can't help but make you tap your foot and shake your head in time to the groove and beat. Tracks like 'Wrong Side of the Track' change pace a little, but still remain with the ballpark of the rest of Social End Products work.
Furthermore, throughout Nutre Tu Cabeza you can hear the influence of surf greats like Dick Dale, The Ventures, and Link Wray; garage legends like The Seeds, and (early) Jefferson Airplane; and many other classically far-out sources such as 1970's psych-prog rock, ect. That is to say, if you like any of the bands I just mentioned, this could be a damn solid record for you.
Critic's Comment: The main success of this album is its ability to lock into that metaphysical 'groove', which is so often associated with psychedelia, and stay with it for damn near 14 short-but-sweet tracks. If you find yourself at an ends this week, or weekend, whilst searching for a record to put on as you drink your coffee, I highly recommend Nutre Tu Cabeza to aid in your invigoration. Heck, if you can, buy the damn vinyl - it's just one of those listens that demands the physical medium.
Find the album here for download AND vinyl purchase here.
Make sure to like the band's Facebook page here, as I am led to believe they are soon to have new recordings being released...
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