The album, ‘Om Parvat Mystery’, is named after an ancient holy mountain in the Himalayas. On a recent radio appearance, the band also joked that it was because making the album had been an uphill struggle, with half being recorded in the UK and half in the Faroe Islands.
This second record shows a greater variety and depth than its predecessor, ‘Either That or The Moon’. Whilst their debut album inducted listeners into the band’s signature psychedelic sound, their second sees them experiment with music that strays between the reverb-rich revelry for which they are revered to a purer rock sound reminiscent of an early Kasabian.
This is definitely a positive move for their music, as the record paves an unpredictable and highly enjoyable path through their new direction.
Trying to define the first single from the album, ‘Wide Eyes’, I produced the phrase ‘psychedelic surf-rock’. It’s a nostalgia packed warm-weather track, with a constant heat-haze of echoing guitar and rolling drums invoking feelings of summer days spent on the coast.
Track five, ‘Spyders’, leaves the beach, instead opting for a more chilled road-trip reminiscent sound. An acoustic opening leads into a softer breed of rock. This remains the case until the later stages, when a drum-induced defibrillation breathes an unexpected speed to the song.
This travels into the record’s next track, ‘High Drive’. A mischievous, creeping piece of music that sneaks a hand forward to the car stereo and inches the volume dial up, one notch at a time. A deliciously drawled vocal hook and ever-more adventurous accompanying guitar serve as a reminder that the band haven’t lost their psych-rock roots.
Perhaps the most interesting track on the record is ‘Himalaya’, a collaboration with singer-songwriter Najma Akhtar. It is an isolated piece of music, drawing from a number of diverse and fresh influences for the band to a trekking anthem. The pace is set by a bassline that though it starts with a lazy trudge, is soon coaxed into running as the song ascends to an almost to a lofty, intoxicating peak.
Overall, the record is an all-expenses paid extreme tourism experience with mountains, beaches, road-trips and great music. It’s the sort of sun-drenched summer holiday MTV videos used to taunt you with. The Californian sun that was dangled like a carrot on a stick, always out of reach behind a thin TV screen.
Well, Desert Mountain Tribe have made it accessible. They’ve even compacted it into nine tracks, and a 12-inch diameter if vinyl’s more your style.
‘Om Parvat Mystery’ by Desert Mountain Tribe is out today. For more information, visit their official website.
