Minnesota’s The Living Sky take Pink Floyd-like surrealism and the wild spirit of free-form Kosmische musik, and combines them with gritty shoegaze, frying all brains within earshot.

The band, which consists of Jason Millard and Matthew Himes, creates howling cyclones of radiated fuzz, Psilocybin grooves and hazy motorik garage nuggets like some sort of Simply Saucer/Brainticket hybrid. Once they start jamming, though, they become an entirely different unit altogether.

When the duo improvise on guitar, they utilize a plethora of trippy pedals to whip up a storm of swirling distortion and phasing banshee cries. Their jams always result in something that feels both heavily celestial and yet deeply earthen at the same time. It’s as if they’re channeling both the cosmos and the energy and presence of terrestrial elements simultaneously. This can be best exemplified in the title track from their cassette and in their new wild video, “Maia Song,” which finds the pair getting especially interstellar in a crude hut made of branches and logs in a forest somewhere. Check it out below:

Their debut record also reveals the group’s more song-oriented side, too, like on the shamanic “Wishing Well” and “Cylinder.” These tracks feature hypnotic vocals, catchy rhythms and tight pockets of fuzzed-up solos that bring to mind Spacemen 3 and Matt Valentine.

I’m sure before the year is through, every fan of Wet Tuna, Sunburned Hand of The Man and Bobby Lee will evolve into devotees of The Living Sky’s unique brand of rural kosmische jams. Click here to get their debut album on cassette or digital from Home & Garden Music today.

-KH

If you like what you’re reading, please help keep RCU thriving. You can show your support by becoming a patron at our Patreon account or you can make a donation to our PayPal account below.

As always, please also consider donating to any of these sites to help fight racial injustice.