There's many perks to doing this reviewing lark, but one of the major ones is discovering and supporting bands on our local scene from their inception.
Checking out a new band on their first gig (no matter how experienced the members may be) is always a thrill and then seeing them actively evolve into fully fledged headliners in that period, is one of the best things that has come from doing this thing.
Supporting a local band through line up changes, setbacks and the shenanigans that befall all bands in one way or another, you get to see all of that culminate into captivating live shows and amazing albums, it's a real joy.
Especially when you've been a small part of that journey, reviewing, photographing or indeed just making a lot of noise about them to others. It feels like you can share in their success, as these are one of your bands, them and their hardcore fans all together with universe shining for a job well done!
Lacertilila are such a band for me, I've been behind this band since their debut gig and every time I've listened to them or seen them live that initial thrill is always still there, it's a mixture of knowing them and what they do but never quite knowing what to expect. The latter especially true from Lacertilila as they're a band that have always embraced and even courted chaos.
One of the true cornerstones of South Wales stoner/psych/greebo scene for the last decade Lacertilila, are a motley crew of metalheads, stoners, hippies and rockers coming together to play music that takes me back to those first two Orange Goblin albums or if Monster Magnet leaned more into Hawkwind, it's psychadelic stoner with a punk rock spirit.
The rhythm section that today features Ed Hughes on the fat bass grooves and Carl Richards bashing it out behind the kit, in sync in their noise as they control the pace and power of the band with Michael Young-Temple's guitars taking more a rhythm role to drive the stomping riffage.
Ready for Lucas Zalunski to bring the sprawling lead playing as they shift into atmospheric and ethereal realms. Behind the mic, Matt Fry shouts and hollers with grit, his vocals as breathless and wide eyed as on stage persona, the shaman of this psychadelic sermon.
Fiercely D.I.Y Lacertilila have managed to build up not only a cult following, but have played high profile shows at Hellfest, Freak Valley, Desertfest London, they also spearhead the Strange Frequencies community that showcases the weird and wonderful of the UK music scene. It's within the last few years though that they've put their foot on the gas a little more.
Building up momentum with more shows than before, including their biggest ever headline show at The Globe Cardiff to celebrate 10 years, it seems this underground act are stepping out into the spotlight of the bigger stoner scene which has found them getting signed to Majestic Mountain Records for their new album Transcend.
Each of their release has been an evolution, from the shock n awe of the Crashing Into The Future EP, through the heavy rock riffs of their debut We're Already Inside Your Mind, the band have forged their sound, tinkering with it when needed to expanded their sonic approach. Their previous record Calling The Quarters, was perhaps a bit more personal and downbeat, but with Transcend they're embracing the sun and the spiritual for more cosmic exploration.
Not as direct as their previous albums, this third full length stretches out their stoner punk with some empyrean soundscapes, Nothing's Sacred's slow burning, echoed and reverbed climb a mid-record piece of psych/prog that builds the layers to tell the tale of being more disconnected than we ever have been. This track owes a lot to The Doors, the slow build, the mind warping groove, the vocals that gain ferocity as it moves towards the climax, you almost expect a "Mr Mojo Rising".
It's this astral approach the band take throughout, as if observing Earth from above and commenting, Lacertilila's lyrics have always been counter-culture, they cultivate awareness through esoteric lyrics, the environment, acceptance, the human experience, a penchant for the weird and the obscure and that age old Bill And Ted ethos of being excellent to each other are all part and parcel of the Lacertilia sound.
Archaic Oscillations begins the record with some woozy acoustics, drawing you in before We Go Here, rumbles to life with some thundering riffage. As the filthy guitar tones are driven by low end throb, and expressive drumming, and just as your locked in, there's a shift to the muzzy bass/drum led middle section, we're in classic Lacertilila territory as the influence of Monster Magnet looms large.
Listen Close twists into shape with a bit of a Sabbath stomp, in particular it's this track that's shows that there's a density to what the band do, even on what should just be a marching rocker, there's flourishes from the guitars that make it much more complex than it seems.
While this has always been the case it's a lot more prominent on Transcend. There's a shift in gear to Over & Out, disoriented desert rock atmospherics weave in and out, behind an off time before the speed picks up with a punk frenzy that will get the crowd bouncing.
Side B starts with Transcending, yet further down the Bedouin path as there's acoustic guitars and Djembe, furiously played as that Floydian guitar cuts through leading into the sauntering, fuzzy RATM-like groove of Deviate From The Plan. With a big cathartic scream, Lacertilila take a walk through the madness of modernity on Weird Scenes, another psych rocker that harks back to the Crashing Into The Future days.
As the end of the record draws close, Cerulean Sky is a little acoustic interlude that closes the middle section of the album but sets the scene for epic closer The Sun Is The Key. Building from a ceremonial drum beat from Carl, Matt croons about the power the sun holds throughout history as Ed's bass thumps against some ringing guitar notes. Then at about two and a half minutes in the riffs from Mike and Lucas come in for more Monster Magnet meets Hawkwind space metal, that swells into a raging guitar freak out towards the end, closing Transcend in the loudest and most intense way it can.
On their third album Lacertilila have delivered the album of their career, highlighting their strengths from previous records but plenty of new additions to what they do. I've been really lucky to see this band become what their are today first hand. One of the finest examples of psychedelic stoner sound in the UK. Transcend and become one with the Lacertilila. 10/10
Photo By Konstantina Frasia Photography Cardiff
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