Issue 74 / February 2017

34
Bido Lito! February 2017 Reviews
moniker – are FUSS, all beanie hats, permastoned,
coyote howls, and a beautiful sound.
Jangly and washy at the same time, it’s like
bathing in sherbet. They have something
other bands don’t. They also have a guy who
crouches behind a monitor for the whole set
over something that lights up his face like the
glowing MacGuffin in Pulp Fiction. Mysterious.
Speaking of mysterious, PSYCHIC ILLS can
hypnotise a room in approximately eight
minutes armed with just two chords. It helps
when you’ve Hecate, queen of the witches, on
bass (actually Elizabeth Hart) underpinning
Tres Warren’s distant, blurred vocals and
shimmering guitar. They released album
number five, Inner Journey Out, this summer,
and even with the sweeping vistas conjured
up by the generously-employed lap steel,
there’s no denying that, with a cold winter
bearing down on those upstairs and outside,
this new material can withstand the seasons,
soundtracking a blanketed session indoors
as well as a stumbling comedown through
the desert. Maybe once every ten minutes or
so, one band member will shoot a glance at
another. They might smile briefly in reply. What
fluctuation in all that density of sound, which
chord of the two in perpetuity, elicits such a
reaction?
Long-form psychedelia like this rewards
attention. Drones and repetition give the
superficial impression of sustained calm, but
as with still waters, such music runs deep, and
there are endless subtle eddies to be spotted
by the careful listener, that tug at the ankle and
pull you in. They’re a soundtrack band, and it’s
up to you to think up the image. When a guitar
laughs, you have a say in what it’s finding so
funny.
A sound that never stops is reassuring.
Perhaps that’s why it’s best they dispense with
encores as they drop their instruments and
leave the stage unceremoniously through the
crowd. There’s a groove running through the
universe at all times, and Psychic Ills tap into it.
Stuart Miles O’Hara / @ohasm1
MERSEYRAIL SOUND
STATION FESTIVAL
Moorfields Station
Anticipation, nerves and excitement arrive
into Moorfields Station today as well as the
usual carriages from across the region. Ten
bands are here to battle it out and go away
with the much-coveted Merseyrail Sound
Station Prize. The prize, encompassing industry
mentoring, studio time and free train travel
courtesy of the sponsors, has previously been
enjoyed by rapper Blue Saint, soul sensation
Katy Alex and indie rockers Soho Riots. This
Deliah (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk)
year, there’s a suitably eclectic line-up looking
to impress a panel of judges who represent