FYF FEST 2015: King Gizzard, Melody’s Echo Chamber, The Horrors To Psych It Up (FESTIVAL PREVIEW)

fyfestIt’s that time of year again where the fedora wearing, craft beer drinking creatures of Los Angeles crawl out of their hallowed coves to experience FYF Festival in LA’s Sports Arena and Exposition Park, with this years lineup catering to both the electronic afficionado and free spirited hippy girl alike. A scrumptious blend of favorites like Belle and Sebastian combined with romantic acts like Melody’s Echo Chamber, this years festival is sure to be a groove machine, with psychedelic  fingers weaving their way through the diverse lineup.

Injections of dreamy shoegaze with the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain who continue their tour celebrating Psycho Candy’s 30th anniversary/ While providing a steady amount of throwback bands, it does not come without the likes of favorites like Unknown Mortal Orchestra, whose new album boasts catchy syncopated chord structures. Hailing from down under are King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, whose intriguing name parallels their trippy, offbeat sound that ebbs and flows between whiskey soaked reworked blues to an introspective journey that is submerged in reverb.

Indulgently alluring psych-rock band The Horrors are sure to bring a noir veneer to the festival’s two day melodic madness with their sound reflective of candy coated beats that pulse and fall like drops of heavy paint on a lush acid glazed pallet.

Belle and Sebastian: Like a wine that is aging beautifully, Belle and Sebastian’s newest release Girls in Peacetime Like to Dance is reminiscent of their traditionally warm and feel good vibe, but tugs at ambient, nonlinear notes that create long, drawn out measures that undulate forward in a comforting fashion that doesn’t intrude upon the listener. Tracks like “The Cat With The Cream” contrast hip shaking, synth driven songs like “The Party Line” which depart from their usual fare, providing galactic bundles of eighties like rhythms that make this one of Belle and Sebastian’s most infectious albums to date. 

 

Melody’s Echo Chamber: This generation’s Francoise Hardy, Melody Prochet who performs under moniker Melody’s Echo Chamber provides softened French tunes that are then distilled through a mind-altering funnel as her debut album, produced with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, is an expedition through the stars with songs like “I Follow You” and “Crystallized” prancing in heavy waves that are incongruous to her delicate vocals that float freely over crunchy and at times satisfyingly dissonant notes. Both modern and a doe eyed gaze to the past, Prochet gives a much needed feminine touch to the male heavy resurgence in psychedelic rock.

 

The Jesus and Mary Chain: Arguably the birth of shoegaze, The Jesus and Mary Chain continues their tour, playing tracks from Psychocandy which includes classics “Just Like Honey” and “In a Hole.” A major inspiration for bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre, their nostalgically dewey sound is characterized by slow, heavy drums that meet the vacant singing of Jim Reid. Hailing from Scotland and starting their careers in the early 1980’s, The Jesus and Mary Chain continue to bring in large crowds, proving their ageless prowess with FYF Fest surely to be no different.

 

Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Possibly the definitive soundtrack to a summer fling, Ruban Nielsen’s new album Multi- Love provides the backdrop for the season with a blend of funky,  electronically rhythmic concoctions that exhibit a slight Devo and Talking Heads quality. Pulsed vocal stylings are annunciated in the candy pop track “The World Is Crowded” while “I Cant Keep Checking My Phone” is fresher than a mojito on a steamy Los Angeles afternoon. The new release also contains gems like “Necessary Evil” where you can hear Nielsen’s true craftsmanship with carefully selected effects that don’t overpower sprinklings of trumpet. No matter the weather, Unknown Mortal Orchestra will surely be bringing all the summer dress clad, cocktail drinking ladies to the yard.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: If the name isn’t enough to spark your curiosity, this Aussie band is one to look out for this year as hollowed vocals cruise in and out of both blues and synth glazed melodies that showcase the band’s genre defiant style. Songs like “Work This Time” erupt in a floral garden of sound with the initial drums settling into a long, slow trip as the song sways and bends in a mesmeric current. More riled up and harmonica licked, another favorite “Stressin” proves this band can strip it down without losing momentum.

 

The Horrors: Originally from the United Kingdom, The Horrors flirt with many genres with famous tracks like “So Now You Know” contrasting tracks like “Change Your Mind” which shows a sensitive side of these rockers across the pond. Recently having played The Trianon at The Paris International Psychedelic Music festival, The Horrors lit up the stage with their energetic performance and will do the same at this year’s FYF festival.

FYF Festival is at L.A. Memorial Sports Arena & Exposition Park taking place over Saturday August 22nd and Sunday August 23rd. Single day passes are sold out but two day and VIP passes are still available for purchase at fyffest.com

 

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