Australia’s major export these days may be its generous roster of neo-psychedelic rock bands. Tame Impala and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have achieved international success. Pond and Gum also have broken out of the local music scene and have been gaining fans of psychedelic music outside of Australia. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets is now getting some love, as well.
Jack McEwan is Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ principal songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, and founder. When he was 13 years old, the McEwan family relocated from England to Perth, Western Australia. While attending school, he dabbled with solo projects, eventually collaborating with other young musicians in all-night jam sessions. These jams led to the formation of the band that became known as the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets in 2014. Following initial personnel changes, the band presently consists of McEwan, guitarist Luke Parish, drummer Danny Caddy, bassist Wayan Billondana, and keyboardist/guitarist Chris Young. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets released its fifth and most recent album, Night Gnomes, on April 22.
The band took the stage and launched the set with “Tally-Ho,” a speedy, heavy-bottomed headbanger with crushing drums and indecipherable lyrics. Setting a trippy mood at (le) Poisson Rouge, videos of swirling shapes and colors projected onto a screen against the back wall of the stage and onto the musicians themselves. The stage had no spotlights the projections, so the audience saw the musicians in the swirling colors of the backdrop.
The speed of the songs varied throughout the evening’s performance. Thick and thunderous guitar-dominant music had a hulking weight, as the musicians teamed for a sludgy and grungy impact. Anvil-heavy riffs were the core of most songs. As the set progressed, the songs seemed to grow more jam-based, as the guitarists noodled with fuzzy guitar tones. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets seldom achieved the trance-like vibe of a lot of psychedelic band largely because most of the songs were hard-hitting and aggressive. The audience responded enthusiastically, singing the lyrics to the slower songs and slamming to the faster songs.
McEwan sang with his hair swinging in his face for most of the show, rocking to the rhythms he created. His smooth, soothing vocals favorably contrasted the intense energy of the blistering music. Between songs, McEwan occasionally engaged the audience with improvised banter.
Today’s underground psychedelic rock scene has a far different context than this music did for the late 1960s Woodstock generation. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets did a commendable job reviving a sound from more than 50 years ago into the modern world. The band proved that psychedelic rock still rocks.
