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Vertacyn Arc Materializer

Phlodd

Review by Gary Hill

This act is not precisely a progressive rock outfit. They are definitely art rock, though. This is unique music that is very cool, if quite eclectic. I can make out influences of acts ranging from The Residents to King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Primus and more at different points here. Whatever you call this, though, it's very creative and unusual. I also like it quite a bit.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2022  Volume 6. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2022.

Track by Track Review
Thank You Florida!
Coming in rather psychotic and tastefully strange, this definitely reminds me of The Residents to some degree. It has some definite modern prog in the mix. It's trippy, unique and so intriguing. The lyrics reference "Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer." This thing gets quite heavy and punky, metallic as it drives forward. This continues exploring the sonic space in strange ways.
Ikea Stock Split
Jazzy, driving and pretty crazed, this is also tastefully strange. It's a lot of fun, too.
Hurry Up And End, Hell
More electronic, this is still suitably strange in very cool ways.
You Can Always Be Lucky All Of The Time
This comes in fairly sedate. It reminds me a lot of early Pink Floyd. It's spacey and so cool. This earns a parental advisory on the lyrics. It has a bit of a shoegaze meets psychedelia thing to it. It's one of the highlights of the set for me. There is a cool excursion into freaky space late in the number.
Weight Loss 101
Cool bass work opens this number. The track drives out into freaky, experimental, yet grooving sound. I'm reminded of Primus a little, at least musically. This gets another parental advisory. This thing rocks out like crazy later. This shifts into a hard rocking jam that makes me think of modern, hard-edged King Crimson to a large degree.
Moth In A Butterfly Collection
This is hard rocking in some regards, but it's also spacey and very proggy. Psychedelia, space rock and more merge on this number.
Nicotine Chewing Gum
Quirky and trippy, this has some punk angles, but a lot of space rock, too. I can make out some DEVO on this, but also Hawkwind and even some metal angles. It's all wrapped together into something so cool. Sped up voices coming from one side and then the other later are a great touch.
Slides
Bass sounds start this number. This is a space rock meets art rock styled number. The only vocals in the first three-quarters of the song are spoken sound-bites. This thing gets so trippy and has some King Crimson-like elements in a heavier jam later. It eventually works out from there into another section that makes me think of early Pink Floyd. That's where the sung vocals reside.
Enough On Hand To Forget
Trippy keyboard type stuff opens this cut. The track works out to a particularly quirky, artsy arrangement. This again calls to mind The Residents.
The Brazilian
A slow moving, mellower song, this has plenty of cool psychedelia into it. It's more of a balladic space rock styled piece. This turns Pink Floyd like as it works outward and slightly upward later in the number.
The Slip, Slip, Slip
This starts off rather Pink Floyd-like. It drives out to more of a psychedelic groove as it continues. This is very much art rock. It turns more early Floydian in a more rocking arrangement later, too.
 
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