WANDERLOST

Joining bands like Bachman-Turner Overdrive, The Guess Who, Propagandhi, The Weakerthans and Mohagany Frog comes one of the few and proud from Canada's central city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. One of 2019's most energetic and adventurous psychedelic prog bands, DIZZY MYSTICS formed in 2017 and has released two singles but finally releases its debut WANDERLOST in 2019. While it may seem that for touring purposes the band shows four members in most photo ops, in reality DIZZY MYSTICS is just the duo of Kyle Halldorson (Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Mandolin, bongos, shakers, tambourine) and Aaron Edgar on drums along with a few guest vocalists. Wild and unpredictable, WANDERLOST so far has been one of the highlights of the prog universe this year.

Suffice it to say that DIZZY MYSTICS is quite unique and sounds like no other band out there which is quite the refreshing development in a world of a million clones and sound usurpers. The band idea and compositions are pretty much the brainchild of main man Kyle Hlldorson who crafted the 10 tracks on WANDERLOST which were primarily written on guitar and then came the bass and drum parts later. While many other instruments are implemented for stylistic effect, DIZZY MYSTICS is primarily a guitar, bass and drum act with the in-yer-face focus on energetic jazz-rock riffing that often drifts into hard rock territory along with slower atmospheric relaxed moments.

Delivering the true meaning of electric, the guitars of King Crimsonian magnitude exude a Steely Dan sort of jazz-rock vibe but can hint at neo-prog's heavier moments heard by bands like IQ or Arena and also has moments that remind of "Relayer" era Yes or even Wobbler. At times the music is somewhat goofy with tongue-in-cheek humor more in tune with the silliness of Frank Zappa. While DIZZY MYSTICS describes its own music as psychedelic progressive rock, the music is more intricately designed with pinches of this and that in every cadence that makes you sit band and thin, hmmm who does that remind me of? The truth of the matter is that WANDERLOST is one of those jittery jazzy prog albums that finds the guitar, bass and drums all exhibiting independent roles and rolling out an exuberant business for most of the album's near 57 minute run.

Perhaps more notable than the funk jazz bass slapping and heavy time signature rich riffing of the guitar is the stellar drum abuse of Aaron Edgar whose chops keep the album hopping at a quickened pace as his drum rolls and fills sound as busy as a caffeinated Neil Pert but with a much richer palette especially in the jazz arenas of drumming complexities. While the psychedelic passages do occur, personally i wouldn't call this band psychedelic in the sense of any true otherworldliness coming into play. This band is about delivering tight-knit musical cadences that generate time signature rich rhythmic interplay with outbursts of energy that often rampage through hard rock territory and verge on metal. The notable exceptions for the true psychedelic extra touches are short as heard on the final title track.

Quirky is the only word that comes to mind when describing DIZZY MYSTICS. Sometimes Halldorson's vocals remind me of Neil Morse and the band can sound like a more jazzy version of Spock's Beard or Morse's solo material only more spastic, more diverse and more, well, quirky. There is a lot of staccato on this album. The snappy rhythmic passages and the quickened bass slaps utilize short bursts of silence in between chords and notes which may seem imperceptible but gives the entire effect a more slapping funkified feel. Probably the weirdest part of the album are the vocals which could be irritating if the music didn't so perfectly match the off-kilter nature of Halldorson's somewhat acute vocal smatterings throughout WANDERLOST. This isn't your ordinary prog but a goofball mix of many other styles that come to mind but presented like nothing else. This energetic electric prog is definitely for those who like it fast, loud and jittery.