With a continual gain in altitude Boston’s Ice Dragon have been ascending along a creative trajectory that has miraculously shown no signs of losing momentum. Not only has the band produced a vast amount of material in the past few years, but they have done so with nary a misstep. For their latest release Ice Dragon have teamed-up with like-minded freak-out psychedelic cosmic rockers Space Mushroom Fuzz for the ‘Crystal Future’ split. Their collective DIY work ethic, geographical proximity, and penchant for crafting mind-bending sonic tapestries makes for one hell of a complementary split release.
Ice Dragon kicks things off with “New Blue Horizon”, a reverb-and-delay-drenched bliss-out that is poised to burn through the exosphere and into the cold void of space. Pedal-abused interstellar noise and undulating bass-lines are accented by Ron’s vocals and some great spaced-out leads. After hearing this tune and their last single, “Demons From Hell”, it’ll be interesting to see where their heads are at on the next album. Following “New Blue Horizon” is the brief atmospheric instrumental “Slowly We All (Into the Bottle) Fall”, though reportedly recorded around the time of the ‘Tome of the Future Ancients’ sessions the track fits perfectly with “New Blue Horizon” by acting as a melancholic come-down.
Similar in tone yet different in execution is Space Mushroom Fuzz’s “A Peak Into the Future”. Rather than depending on otherworldly distorted noise, Space Mushroom Fuzz produces narcotizing effects with enveloping synth waves, acoustic guitar, and ethereal vocals. The cold, isolating currents that carry the listener downstream are occasionally accented with emotive electric guitar leads and swirling eddies of synth noise. The delightfully weird “A Timely Idea” closes out the split release and functions similarly to Ice Dragon’s brief, atmospheric track, though “A Timely Idea” is accompanied by an indiscernible vocal rhythm. The most immediate point of reference for Space Mushroom Fuzz’s contributions would be, among others, Granddady—particularly the detached psychedelia of ‘The Sophtware Slump’.
The ‘Crystal Future’ split is a tremendous pairing of two seemingly likeminded bands. Ice Dragon and Space Mushroom Fuzz, though on different pages sonically, heave each crafted laidback, heavy-psych tunes perfect for altered states of consciousness or floating aimlessly through space. One of the year’s finest split releases.
Ice Dragon Facebook
Ice Dragon Bandcamp
Space Mushroom Fuzz Facebook
Space Mushroom Fuzz Bandcamp
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