Chatham Rise/Thelightshines - We Are The Sun split EP (Picture In My Ear Records)

Wow, what a treat! A split EP from two of my favorite psych bands, timed for release with the change into full summer. The EP title is fitting, as are track names from “dawn” to “meadowsweet” to “sunshine in my head”. Everything is lowercase, from the band names to song titles, but the music is UPPERCASE with a bang (and I shall use sentence case, at least)! Mark Gardener of Ride produced the four Chatham Rise songs with a deft but gentle hand, and they’re all gorgeous and intricate, in the best sort of way that psychedelia can be. There is “Dawn”, which opens the EP quietly but full of assurance, like the promise of a beautiful day ahead. Gentle washes of sound waft through you, and a barely there watery vocal drifts through the sonic backdrop before its wispy tendrils disappear. I am partial to the lovely “Meadowsweet”, which floats dreamily past and fades away quickly, but not before you grasp its excellence.

I also love “How Do You Sleep?”, which reminds one of flowery Brian Jonestown Massacre with a more up front vocal and melody. “Eventide” is another blissful experience, with hushed vocals and sprightly music. Lovely all around.

And then we have Thelightshines from the UK, a band I discovered just a short time ago. Opening track “Hanging Around (Famous Times Version)” is less ethereal than Chatham Rise and more grounded, if that makes any sense. And yet, even as your mind forms around the words, layer upon layer of beauty stages a gentle sonic assault on your senses. What sounds like a flute pipes brightly as a counterpoint to the song’s main melody. “Sunshine In My Head” could well be a modern Incredible String Band piece, incorporating sitar, woodwinds, and brass (or what sounds like it anyway) and is as lovely as I have attempted to describe here.

“To Fall Into Your Arms” catches the listener up in a swirling haze of dream pop and keeps you there for its duration. All too soon, you arrive at the EP’s final song, “Meditations on Death”, with sitar and tabla underscoring this psychedelic raga. It is slightly darker than the other songs, but the melody at its core warms things to a slightly molten level. In summary, this is a really good sampler of both bands for fans old and new, and another welcome entry to modern psychedelia.

The EP can be ordered here, and you can check out Chatham Rise here and TheLightShines here.