NOctuary - The holydrug couple

Noctuary

The Holydrug Couple

3.5 out of 5

Hailing from Santiago, Chile's burgeoning psych scene, The Holydrug Couple specialize in music that will take you on an inner space journey while still providing great hooks and melodies to latch onto. Similar in some respects to Tame Impala's modern update of psychedelic-era Beatles, but awash in Spacemen 3 or Psychic Ills-type droning atmospherics and swirling keyboard, giving it a uniquely dreamy sound that you can either drift away to or bob your head and hum along to.

Highlights for me include opener "Counting Sailboats," which cruises along on a propulsive, repeating Krautrock-style rhythm, with droning organ and reverb-drenched vocals combining to create a euphoric, hypnotized feeling that's pretty much maintained throughout the entire album. The noodling, shimmering guitar and languid vocals of the epic "Out of Sight" produces a "floaty" feeling that I wasn't ready to come down from. Good thing the mostly instrumental "Paisley" brought me back there pretty quickly with its intertwining guitar melodies and fluid drumming.

Every song here, while each has a different vibe, produces an overall feeling of serene bliss, making 'Noctuary' a perfect album to get lost in waves of spaced-out guitars and soaring keyboards. Considering this album almost flew under my radar, I'm just thankful to have run across it, and can't wait to hear where The Holydrug Couple go next.