The start of the fifth Dr Sardonicus Winter Festival was announced by the monumental chords of The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies, and weird sounds from their super-fertile imaginations. Their brand of heavy psych-rock, complete with 70s-inspired riffs and twangy guitars, provoke you to shake your locks into the speakers as you used to, whilst their eccentric, Stanshall-esque wit amuses and delights the mind.

Second up were space-rock purveyors Moon Goose, fresh from Hereford, with their dark yet uplifting vibes, deliberately fuzzy amps and instrumental soundscapes of high strangeness. Their tongue-in-cheek kitsch is so lovable, but their backline still manages to create an ominous feel that disturbs in just the right way. View them online, and the soundtrack quality is augmented by hand-made film referencing favourite sci-fi and horror.

Sendelica headlined on Saturday night, bringing clever and profound guitar mastery to throbbing basslines, rousing the crowd to the pinnacle of wild grooviness and wilder headshaking. The Sardonicus’ Dream concept (this the 14th iteration of a winning formula) was originally the brainchild of the Cardigan-based band, in collaboration with the Cellar’s Steve Greenhalgh.

Sunday at the venue kicked off with Pembrokeshire’s Broken Lines, whose members’ shared background of punk, political rock, blues and psychedelia has forged an energetic, bass-heavy and angsty brew. With distinct song structure and moody, conscious lyrics, their weighty presence has a big following amongst aficionados, and their anti-‘digital dogma’ stance is received with deserved enthusiasm.

Deviant Amps from Harlow have a long and praiseworthy pedigree in psych/Krautrock, and from the thrash elements of Hypnotiser to the hippyfest of Magic Carpet Ride, you are drawn into their original world. Announcing the release of new album The Castle In The Sky, the tracks played were like short, sharp shocks, untypical of the genre – and their irrepressible drummer, just loving it, spread the rhythmical passion throughout the thrilled cavern.

Icarus Peel’s Acid Reign wrapped up the two-day event with their full-on, cohesive, retro-psych, combining rich, bluesy and melodious songs, each one like its own concept album! Old-school heavy with a social conscience, their tasty, multi-layered offerings created a constantly surprising audient journey, rounding off their own set with a beautiful rendition of Arthur Lee’s Signed D.C.

The atmosphere they conjured, completing the fifth iteration of Dr Sardonicus Winter Festival, summed up the total experience – an ecstatic psychedelic rock weekend of camaraderie, sonic therapy and shared devotion – and left us counting the days until this festival’s bigger sibling: The 19th Dream Of Dr Sardonicus, due at The Cellar in August. 

Dr Sardonicus Winter Festival, The Cellar Bar, Cardigan, Sat 25 + Sun 26 Feb

words JULIA DELI