Review: Gypsy Sun Revival – s/t (released June 14, 2016)

Gypsy Sun Revival is a US trio hailing from Fort Worth, Texas that comprises Lee Ryan on vocals, bass and organ; Ben Harwood on drums and percussion and Will Weise on guitar and Theremin. According to their Facebook profile the band caters to “listeners who prefer long distance trips through space.”

Indeed, on this, their self-titled debut album, things do get off to a spacey start on the opening track Crimson Eye, with drones, cymbal swells and mysterious space bleeps, before exploding into a sizzling space blues jam. Heavy psych number Solar Breeze is another blues inflected rocker that takes a left turn into deep space in the middle with some fantastic guitar playing, tribal drumming and waves of interstellar organ. Cosmic Plains has a nice groovy stoner vibe with another effective spacey mid-section. The vocals here are reminiscent of Fu Manchu, as Lee Ryan intones his magical and cosmically inclined lyrics. Blissed out drones, shaker percussion and exotic guitar open Somewhere Beyond, one of the best tracks on the album, a mid-tempo lysergic odyssey of freaky wah-wah guitars, space chants and more of that tripped out organ. Idle Tides returns to the bluesy realms for a slower number, with some incendiary guitar soloing and a deep throbbing bassline. This segues right into The Other Side, a dub space trip with Eastern guitar meanderings and dreamy, hallucinatory vocals. Radiance begins with a strange, cavernous, water dripping bass and shadowy guitar, before breaking out into a hefty, mind-blowing space rock jam that brings this album to its glorious, cosmic conclusion.

Gypsy Sun Revival have arrived on the scene with an incredibly promising debut of heavy, trippy, psychedelic mayhem. Give it a listen and let it blow your mind!

For more info, and to buy the album, visit: https://www.facebook.com/gypsysunrevival, http://www.gypsysunrevival.com, and https://gypsysunrevival.bandcamp.com