NO POCUS WITHOUT HOCUS

MURKY RED are from Belgium and they play a heavy brand of Psychedelic music bringing to mind BLACK SABBATH, PINK FLOYD and THE DOORS. The singer has a husky voice and there's plenty of humour in those lyrics despite the often dark and melancholic mood. I thought this band was American after my first spin until I looked it up. Colin Tench(one of PA.s favourites) guests on one track playing guitar but he also mixed and mastered this album to great results.

"Pixelated Friends" is a top three track for me. It opens with drums in a dark atmosphere before this Iommi-like guitar kicks in as the intensity rises. A calm follows as almost whispered vocals join in. Back to the heaviness as contrasts continue. Love the guitar after 2 minutes and the organ a minute later. "Stoned & Horny" is prettty funny as he tells the story of being in a Bar and missing his ride because... well... he's stoned and horny of course. A catchy track and I really like the extended instrumental section that is mostly laid back from before 2 minutes to after 4 minutes.

"Sweet Dark Hypnosis" is kind of doomy as he sings in that slow, deep voice. Organ is added before 2 minutes. "She's Crying Diamonds" is a top three as well. I just really like the piano in this one as it gives a different feel to the music here. Nice guitar solo before 3 1/2 minutes too but it's the vocals and piano that standout overall. "Nothing Can Go Wrong" has distorted guitar and drums early on as the vocals join in. This is dark and somewhat nasty.

"A Wooden Groove" is one of the more energetic tracks on here and it opens with vocals but then before a minute he sings "But from now on this will be strictly instrumental". And yes it's instrumental the rest of the way including some Iommi-like riffs. Man this is good. "Collateral Damage" is my final top three. We actually get some light shining in this song and I like it. A feel good opening and then we get a calm with reserved vocals 2 1/2 minutes in. I like THE DOORS-like keys as well. It kicks in heavily and becomes darker and I dig the guitar after 4 minutes.

"Bad Wolf Of The Pack" doesn't have vocals until just before 2 minutes. I like the percussion and mood of this one. "Wild Flower" is almost ballad-like and my least favourite. I just find it's too long for what it is. "Mermaids" is humerous as he sings about mermaids, fish tails and fish sticks for some reason(haha). "Elena" is the final and longest song on here at almost 8 1/2 minutes. Organ to start as drums and more join in. The organ leads the way here and we get vocals a minute in. It eventually calms right down around the 4 minute mark as we get a FLOYD- like passage. This might be the most interesting song. It picks up 5 minutes in.

Easily 4 stars and a very entertaining listen.