Reviews: Lions In The Street, Perfect Storm, Magick Potion, Brown Acid (Reviews By Matt Bladen & Rich Piva)

Lions In The Street - Moving Along (Interior Castle Music) [Matt Bladen]

Oof this is a throwback, like fellow Canadians The Sheepdogs or early The Trews, and much of the Canadian rock scene, Lions In The Street are a proper throwback to a time where you didn't need loads of flashy riffs, solos and production. You needed a foundation of the blues, some mouth harp, honky tonk piano and attitude, plenty of attitude. Lions In The Street are a band who will appeal to anyone who has loves The Stones or The Faces.

Sean Casey peeling off the Richards/Wood riffs and not bluesy solos as Chris Kinnon adds his extra six strings and that sneering, soulful vocals of Mick Jagger, his brother Jeff keeps the propulsive Watts'-like beats of Walking Back To You with Enzo Figliuzzi bass the Wyman shuffle. The band had the world at their feet then when they walked away from TVT Records they had work their way back from obscurity, blacklisted and lambasted they were cast into the wilderness which had them working as a garbageman, surviving cancer, serious workplace injuries, car accidents and going back to school.

But rock n roll never really dies and with modern technology comes a new lease of life. Moving Along is their debut album, finished, remixed/remastered ready to throw those tumbling dice and show that these Lions are street fighting men. The Faces can be heard on the strutting Walking Back To You and Gold Pour Down, while much of the album comes from The Stones influence, especially Lady Blue. With four bar blues and slide on Already Gone, bubbling organs and more slide on Shangri-La, some rollicking Chuck Berry riffs on Hey Hey Arlene and moments of Americana such as Truer Now.

A retro feast that Canada seems to be very good at these days, let's hope they don't go the way of the Temperance Movement. Blue collar, old fashioned rock n roll. 8/10

Perfect Storm - Stairs (Glassville Music) [Matt Bladen]

Signed to Glassville Music who knows their way around esoteric, arty rock bands. It's prog for chin strokers, melodic and impressive, it's for bands who are influenced by Porcupine Tree, Marillion and bands of that ilk. I Am Tomorrow for instance has that beautiful elongated solo guitars from Gert-Jan Schurer in Rothery mode. He's the writer of these musical forays and that lush guitar cuts through everything here.

Stairs is the second album from this Dutch group, their first was in 2021 but this one improves on the aspects they established there. From the dreaminess of the title track which is constructed around that bassline of David Klompmakers, a seven minutes of Yes meets modern prog as those keys from Jan Munnik unsettling and jerky.

They get a more classic though on the 11 minute finale Depraved Mind, a song that not only has the killer drum switches from Wieger Dijkstra, who is also so important to the crunchy Demon's Dance but also the dual vocals of Hiske Oosterwijk and Adel Saflou, Hiske's soft soaring melodies put against Adel's low passionate croon.

The dual vocals and lengthy melodic passages featured in interesting, accessible prog rock, Perfect Storm's second album sees them ascending to bigger things. 8/10

Magick Potion - Magick Potion (RidingEasy Records) [Rich Piva]

Throwing around the phrase “debut record of the year” is easy to do. These days there are so many new bands that come ready to rock right out of the gate. I bet I have mentioned that term in a half dozen reviews or more this year. Now though, along with the amazing Kitsa record, we have my co-debut of the year (for real this time) with the self-titled record from Magick Potion. This Baltimore trio is the real deal, from their sound to their look, these guys came from their time machine where they were on a bill with Blue Cheer and stopped to see a Grand Funk show along the way before dropping these eight killer new tracks that capture that era of music better than pretty much any other band out there today.

Fever Dream opens the record up and it is chock filled with Blue Cheer vibes and total heavy psych out 60s goodness. The sound of this record is amazing; my sweet spot for production is Magick Potion. The trio is super tight and have honed these songs over a couple of years to perfection. Empress is next and is even better than the first track. I love the drum work here as well as the guitar tone that is top shelf stuff. I love the tempo changes and the serious echoey reverb on the vocals. These guys are not just about the straight-ahead heavy psych; heavy psych yes but not always straight ahead is what we have with the one-two punch of Wizard and Chateau. Damn, what a trippy journey.

Wizard is a mind-melting psych love song that is more atmospheric than rocking, that seamlessly leads to some psych crooning, as Chateau is pretty much psych lounge rock and boy am I hear for it. The addition of the organ draws me in even more to this track. The boys go full psych out in the middle of this one and it is flat out awesome. This is the weirdest and best track on Magick Potion. Never Change gives me some proto vibes, almost a less evil but more stoned Witchfinder General sound. Never Change does though, as you go from a slower, almost doomy sound to some killer up-tempo jamming that you cannot not think of Sabbath while listening to. 

Magick Potion get their Zeppelin on with Pagan, not with a big rock song but one of the more melodic and ballad-type Zeppelin tunes, executed flawlessly. I get more Zeppelin vibes with Ultra Violet, but more like Zeppelin meets Grand Funk. I once again need to call out the drumming here, as Jason Kendall seems to be channelling Keith Moon. You want real psych? Go for the closer, Wild Perfumes, which is super trippy, has some serious Page worship, while singer/guitarist Dresden Boulden seems to have a direct line back to 1970 with his playing and delivery.

There are a lot of bands out there who try to cop the sounds of yesteryear. Some successfully, others terribly but somehow find a fan base, but Magick Position do it as good or better than any of them. Yes, even the ones who somehow fill arenas. Go listen to this. Magick Potion is the most real and raw new rock band out there today who really gets it. Yeah, the sound is from the past, but this is true rock and roll, as true as anything I have heard all year. If any band I have listened to in 2024 deserve to be stars, it’s Magick Potion. 9/10

Various Artists - Brown Acid: The Nineteenth Trip (RidingEasy Records) [Rich Piva]

I am going to start this review like I did the last five additions to this collection; I love the Brown Acid series that has been curated by the great RidingEasy Records. If you are not familiar with the set the basic concept is that Lance Barresi, owner of L.A.-based Permanent Records, searches the far corners of the US in dusty record store bins, garages, attics, and confirms musical urban myths to bring us lost and the most underground of underground songs from long forgotten bands that in some cases may have only release one song on a promo single. These songs come together to populate the now nineteen volumes of some of the best 60s and 70s proto metal and psych rock that you have never heard before. Never ever do these comps disappoint. This one is no different, with another ten lost treasures for your listening enjoyment.

Highlights include the heavy Blue Cheer-esque fuzz of Dick Rabbit’s You Come On Like A Train. The early Who vibes paired with Grand Funk on Be Myself by Blizzard out of Oklahoma City kicks all sorts of ass. The guitar work on Sun City – Part II by Fox is amazing. The blues rock of Bringing Me Back Home by Sweet Wine is another standout. Where it lacks in production, Get You, by Flight, makes up for it with its super cool Grand Funk vibes and fun bounce. I’m Leavin’ from Cedric is really out there garage rock that is quite an experience, while Zane brings the Hawkwind but even more weird fuzzy with Step Aside.

I am still amazed at Volume 19 we are getting sets of songs that have no clunkers or skips amongst them. I have no idea where these songs keep coming from, but RidingEasy is doing us a major solid by bringing all this great stuff to light with the Brown Acid Series. 8/10