Boris and his Bolshie Balalaika - Psychic Revolution

'Psychic Revolution' was released by Delerium in 1994 and, if I'm being honest, was something of a disappointment after the thoroughly enjoyable 'Toadstool Soup', Boris' great contribution to the 'Fun With Mushrooms' Delerium sampler.

Boris comes across as a psychedelic novelty act, and falls somewhere between Gong's lunatic babbling and an acid-fried piss-take. Though this approach works well on 'Toadstool Soup', a mind-bending ditty about the pleasures and pains of magic mushrooms, it doesn't work quite so well elsewhere. Throw in some zany songs with serious messages, a couple of forgettable Hendrix covers, some accomplished musicianship and lots of weird and wonderful sound effects and what we have is an album that is mildly enjoyable but ultimately disposable. I'm sure some will enjoy Boris' unique brand of psychedelic lunacy, but me? I just didn't quite get it.

Track listing:

1. Toadstool Soup
2. Onward Christian Soldiers
3. Purple Haze
4. Burnin' With The Fire
5. Blacklisted Blues
6. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
7. Moonsong
8. Goin' Nowhere
9. Psychic Revolution (Sunsong)

Get some mushroom soup here.

Praise Space Electric - 2 Leaving Demons

Turn the lights down low, crank up the strobe light, the lava lamp and a jazz cigarette and let the sounds of Praise Space Electric soothe your soul.

This is the 2nd album from Bristol's finest space explorers, released on Delerium records in 1994, and provides another welcome dose of funky, jazzy, spaced-out grooves. The influences come from all over the place - lounge, space-rock, psych, funk, dub, dance, soul, jazz noodlings, ethnic experimentations, spacey electronica...it's a melting pot of styles that just comes together in a way that feels so good. It's more focused than their debut album which, although worthy of a place in any space-head's music collection, is basically a few days jamming released as a mini album ('nothing wrong with that' I hear you say...and I totally agree!)

Blissed-out psychedelic soul music of the highest order.

Track listing:

1. Doc's Groove
2. Sinnerman
3. Rhythm Rhythm
4. Singing The Same Song
5. Diggin' At The Dig In
6. Freedom
7. 300,000 Million Years
8. Waves Of Joy
9. Drain Your Wobbles Away
10. Cybergenetic Experiment X
11. Pebbles

Feel the love here