We here at Garagerocktopia generally, with tons of exceptions, are not so much into Psychedelia -- it’s a little too airy for our tastes. Every so often, though, a band like The Ego Ritual forces us to reconsider our tastes just a bit.
A new-ish band from Lincoln,UK, The Ego Ritual conjures a trippy brew of garage, psychedelia, and even Classic Rock. And there’s nothing airy or puffy about the band’s music -- matter of fact, it rocks like crazy.
The band has just released its first self-titled EP. Great guitar hooks and enticing melodies abound on a four-song collection that absolutely leaves you wanting much more.
The opener, “Chakra Maraca” starts with Indian musical strains -- a component used effectively throughout the EP, but launches soon enough into some full-on rocking. “Ten Points for the Red Star” has a sneery chorus which perfectly counter-balance the songs guitar hooks. “Serenade the Ley Line” has the most garage-y/freakbeatish feel of the album, while “Days of Set” has a sound that would be a comfy fit on mainstream American Rock radio, albeit in more interesting fashion.
Talking to Garagerocktopia by e-mail, singer Jim Styring discussed The Ego Ritual’s pedigree. The band also includes William James Ward on guitars and Gaz Wilde on drums. On stage, they’re joined by Glenn DC Gibbs on bass and Danny Krash on drums and percussion.
The band members are all seasoned musicians, which resonates loud and clear on the EP.
“We've all been involved with other projects and bands,” recounted Styring, “some more known than others. I was in The Popdogs and B-Leaguers. It's all good experience, and there are always things you can bring to the table, whatever musical journey you've been on.”
While band proudly flies its psychedelic flag, the music rings equally early prog rock, as well as power pop. But Strying said there’s not really a target genre-wise at which the band aims.
“There's a whole range of styles and sounds that we bring to The Ego Ritual,” said Styring. “The Popdogs were more of a power pop band, B-Leaguers were melodic punk. But we all share a love of all things psychedelic and experimental.“
“When William and myself sit down to write, there are no rules, we don't have a songwriting map. We allow the ideas to go wherever they want to go, if a song needs six minutes to say what it needs to say, then six minutes it is. We don't really look to what other bands are doing, we create our own musical landscape and reality.”
“That's not to say we aren't huge music fans, we just choose to do our own thing, not consciously influenced by anyone. We leave it to the writers and reviewers to hear influences in our sound. “
That approach. for many bands, often leads to a confused sound. But Styring suggested the experience and professionalism of the band members helps it keep to a more cohesive sound.
“I guess our sense of melody may help,” Styring explained. We have an instinct to know if another chorus or verse is needed, or have they already served their purpose, and informed the listener. It's easy to over-work songs, we allow these things to take shape on their own. We might guide them slightly, but more often than not, they arrive pretty much as you hear them. And a recorded version of a song should only give a hint of where you'll be taking it live, anyway.”
Thus far, the band has seemed able to capture the ears of some and found outlets for their music.
“Things have started very positively for us,” reported Styring. “People are listening to the EP, internet radio and BBC Introducing are playing the tracks. We couldn't have hoped for more from our debut release. “
“We're currently writing what may become either a second EP, or possible, a full length album.
"And we play, The 17th Dream Of Dr. Sardonicus Psych Festival, in Wales, this August. The three-day festival is already sold out, and we're in some great company, including, The Bevis Frond, Sendelica, and the Groundhogs.”
The Ego Ritual EP is available from The Ego Ritual’s bandcamp page, and the CD is also available in the U.S.from Kool Kat Music.
We have some other features already in the works here at Garagerocktopia. Artists have been sending us some very cool stuff. As always, we don’t make any guarantees in stone but we’re happy to say we’ve gotten a lot of very promising music sent to us, and we’re always happy to spread the word about about bands that are playing the way-out kinds of music we profile here. Send us a line and we’ll talk.
Also, we do have a Facebook page for this blog. We don’t put personal stuff on it – no pictures of grandkids or our dinners or politics or anything like that. What we do post are announcements about upcoming features, maybe extra stuff about the bands, and any cool music, movies or TV Shows we stumble across that might have even the most tangential connection with the music featured here. While we don't spend all day thinking about it, we do like "likes" if you're so inclined ...
We have some other features already in the works here at Garagerocktopia. Artists have been sending us some very cool stuff. As always, we don’t make any guarantees in stone but we’re happy to say we’ve gotten a lot of very promising music sent to us, and we’re always happy to spread the word about about bands that are playing the way-out kinds of music we profile here. Send us a line and we’ll talk.
Also, we do have a Facebook page for this blog. We don’t put personal stuff on it – no pictures of grandkids or our dinners or politics or anything like that. What we do post are announcements about upcoming features, maybe extra stuff about the bands, and any cool music, movies or TV Shows we stumble across that might have even the most tangential connection with the music featured here. While we don't spend all day thinking about it, we do like "likes" if you're so inclined ...
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