Hippie Death Cult Coalesce Maniacal Doom into a "Red Giant" (Early Track Stream)
The uncommon appeal of Hippie Death Cult is, to my ears, that they play stoner rock like it's something entirely different. That sounds nonsensical, but the Portland trio use the sounds, textures, and overall atmosphere of stoner rock as a testbed for extraordinary, sublime strangeness that ties back to their genre inclinations while becoming something much more. More artful than most of the genre and singularly captivating, every album from this crew is a major event not to be missed. The next such occasion comes later this month with the release of Helichrysum, their third full-length, and we're streaming a new single from the album here -- listen to "Red Giant" below.
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Bassist Laura Philips steps up from secondary to lead vocals on Helichrysum, and she provides mystical, chilling lyrics on "Red Giant." The track showcases Hippie Death Cult's uncanny knack for integrating moody, jazzy exploration with groove-heavy metallic riffing, as well as their skill at exploiting stoner doom tropes for all they're worth. Sure, other bands drop in slowly rolling double-bass and get a little jazzy, but Hippie Death Cult does both of those at the same time here. Some of the gnarliest fuzz-laden licks you'll hear all year lurk within Helichrysum, and they're nestled right up against utterly mesmerizing bizarrity. In short: if you think all stoner doom sounds the same, Hippie Death Cult is here to eradicate that notion.
Helichrysum releases October 20th via Heavy Psych Sounds.
