Multiple Personalities – Sonic Dragon

Dark psy, as a genre, has got to be a bit careful. While a lot of the most innovative, - and certainly psychedelic - sounds of the last twelve months have been within this style, the number of releases is increasing. And as we’ve seen elsewhere, that means  that the quality goes down. Multiple Personalities is a game of two halves: in places it’s really nothing to get excited about, and at other times it’s tear-streamingly incredible. Terminator vs CPC’s Mosgortrans is messy, it’s big and thunky and just seems to pound at you. I know that’s kind of the idea, but it lacks the comedy, funk or sheer yumminess that this genre’s high-watermark reaches and, in the humble opinion of psyreviews, is needed to counterbalance the mental-ness. Paranoise vs Claw’s Vampire Legend is similarly frenetic, and for my money still seems to lack a little soul. The breakdown gives it a nice stutter, but once it’s thrown back into the madness again, it’s all forgotten. Xenomorph vs Xenomorph (really) does (do?) well with Schizoid Transpersonal Progressions, kicking off with the sound of someone snorting a line then gradually picking up more and more attitudey, funk-meets-thunk gnarl and creating a very nice, expansive sound. The break’s twisted and semi-comical, and when it dives into mania once again it’s a sheer joy. Procs vs Captain Ifan’s We Are Closed is incredibly caustic, chaotic stuff. Evidently an achievement in sequencer overloading, it’s an example of more is less I’m afraid. Dejan vs Jellyheadz’ Freakin Six Pack! is tasty, lots of humour evident here and the main riffs are pure shitkicking. Mubali and Ocelot’s Mood Swinger has a great progression to it, flogging and pegging and generally moving very nicely indeed. The half-melodies here are particularly impressive, making for a very psychedelic array of sounds. And then things start to get very, very good indeed. Sequipa vs Baphomet Engine’s Multiple Personalities is sheer class, one of those tunes you can’t stop listening to. The groove is frenetic but not too mash-ya-brain-in, and the topend seems to smooth off the edges of the thunking bass and kick. Some great vocal samples come in and are used like percussion to make for a very psychedelic, shifting moment. On a dancefloor and under the right “mental conditions,” you’d not be able to tell if the sounds were on the record or in your head. Not to mention its main run, which is sheer knees in the air madness. Quasar vs Dylalien’s Alien Together Now is another goodun, with screamingly good sounds all over the place (feedback, cowboy noises, grates, clatters, and god knows what else) and more wrong turns than your girlfriend trying to drive through London (and just about as hilarious). Finally Kulu vs Strangers pop up with Unbelievable, which once again seems to be going through the darkpsy motions: where’s the soul? At the end of the day the highlights here only begin to forgive the lowlights. It’s definitely an album with only a couple of tracks you’ll return to, and its weaker tracks really do sum up this style’s shortcomings.