BEAK>

>>>> (Invada)

In 2024, the term ‘psych’ seems to be stretched in two diametrically opposed directions. On the one hand, the line-ups of nominally ‘psych’ festivals are so broad-ranging as to have drained it of all meaning; on the other, it’s become rigidly codified as a narrowly specific set of sonic and aesthetic signifiers, essentially a tick-box exercise.

Praise be for Beak>’s fourth LP, then, for delivering a genuinely psychedelic experience that’s both Can-nily mesmeric and profoundly mind-mangling. The artfully bent-out-of-shape Windmill Hill is arguably the prime example, but as the shortest song on the record, it’s one of the very few that holds no surprises.

The Bristolian beardies’ penchant for the unexpected – as demonstrated by >>>>’s sudden, fanfare-less release – is reflected throughout the album. Examples include the bass groove and sinister funk of Bloody Miles; the way The Seal briefly goes full late-period Sonic Youth towards its climax; the destabilising riffs that gatecrash Denim and Cellophane to become the life and soul of the party; and, perhaps most surprising of all, the disarmingly pretty Laurel Canyon vocal arrangement on Hungry We Are.

words BEN WOOLHEAD