Six years on from their cult classic LP, Mystic 100s (FKA Milk Music) are back with a double LP of slowly unravelling expansive psych rock. West-coast hippiedom is back maaaaaan, zooming in and zoning out on the micro moments and intricacies of life.
An album that suggests an alternate universe where Neil Young was more interested in dropping acid than honey sliders or one where Jerry and The Dead were willing to balance the transcendental with the darker elements of psychedelia.
A long and immersive listen, Mystic 100s are at their best when sweetly threading solos through the groove on tracks like Message From Lonnie or 1st Day of Peace. The lower-fi murkiness of the previous LP is here dusted away for clear toned guitar lines (some of the best sounding guitars on a record so far this year I reckon!). But far from a one trick guitar trip pony, the album veers into the territory of oddball jazz rock (in classic Deadhead-meets-Beatnik fashion) and wigged out tape manipulation.
-Mitch