Psychedelia from Cyprus? Who knew? Not me. Thankfully, patriotically handled Limassol quartet Arcadian Child know exactly what they’re doing. And on their second full-length, they do it with no small amount of skill and a surprising level of discipline. Superfonica, despite its powerful title, doesn’t come on strong; rather, it sneaks up on you with its mind-altering cocktail of ingredients: Deliberate midtempo pacing, hypnotically headnodding grooves, massive walls of monolithic riffage, reverb-laden vocals (which are in English, if that’s a concern) and an overall vibe as hazy as the back lounge of Willie Nelson‘s tour bus. To put it another way: Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in the Mediterranean. And thinking they might need to start spelling it Psyprus.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “Psyched, potent and intoxicating, Arcadian Child deliver erratic guitar-orientated psychedelia melded with ambience, hallucinogenic patterns and cathartic outbursts. With sounds rivaling the squealing sirens of the Mediterranean up to the dark bellows of the West, Arcadian Child convey their psychedelic ritual in their jam-filled live shows where they spread their hypnotic vibrations.”