Kingdom of the Holy Sun - Surya's Smile II (2013) review

Kingdom of the Holy Sun “Surya’s Smile II” (2013)

There’s a recipe for the sound Kingdom Of The Holy Sun make … though sadly too few seem to be able to follow it. This review encompasses all of their releases, as the band never strays far from what makes them shine.

1. Take a good lazy helping of fuzzed out wasted Black Angels …

2. Sprinkle in a pinch of the quieter earlier Velvet Underground …

3. Add to that, equal teaspoons of The Doors’ first album along with ‘Electric Music For The Mind & Body’ by Country Joe & The Fish …

4. Then mix in a touch of the pop vocal sensibilities of the Allah Las, along with a desired helping of Brian Jones on sitar …

5. Finally, gently blend in the dark romance of Spacemen 3 …

6. Now bake in the sun ‘til it’s all firm around the edges and mushy in the middle … and that my friends is how it’s done.

Referred to as Psychedelic Shamanistic Madness, Kingdom Of The Holy Sun, who hail from Seattle have managed to encapsulate the vintage rhythmic sensibilities of low-keyed organic THC laced garage-psych that merely breaks the surface as they string one set of hazy lysergic drenched notes after another, delivering an intoxicating midnight drive through the stars and wasteland of jettisoned spacecraft orbiting at low altitudes.

It’s a stoner’s delight … that I promise you.

***

I will say that finding physical copies is rather difficult … so, since you’ll be downloading, there are a few numbers that seem to stagger on just a bit too long without a sense of fundamental being, and can certainly be ignored in order to gain a more tight and delightful selection of songs to waste away the early morning hours. I would suggest that you select these: Swarga, Dead Monks, She’s Set Free, Hey Baby, Cult Of The Death Goddess, Her Sweet Delight, Sihanouk Trail, Bhajan, Gone To The Devil, Lakshmi Lost, The House Of The Yé-yé, Surya’s Smile, Fleur Du Malheur, Acid Test 1, Pharmacokinetics, In Her Way, 13 Eyes, Getting Higher, A Go Go, She Lies, Hey Hey Hey, How She Comes, Rave Up, Chiang Rai, White Noise, The One …

Review made by Jenell Kesler/2015