Saturday 17 April 2021

Filthy Hippies - Departures (Album Review)


Release date: April 23rd 2021. Label: Mongrel Records. Format: DD

Departures – Tracklisting

1.Spirit
2.Mystified
3.You Are The Sun
4.The Recipe
5.The Air Is Poison
6.Otherside
7.Among The Wire
8.Dumb
9.Sweet Dreams and Nicotine
10.Never Without You
11.Dethroned
12.Like A Halo
13.Promise
14.I'm Bugging Out
15.Empty Spaces


Review

Departures is the new album from Psychedelic Shoegaze Rockers Filthy Hippies and they take a left-field creative turn with the normal style of Psychedelic Rock. The band have been going for over 3 years now and have released quite a few releases in this time. I believe Departures is their 4th or 5th full length album. Well according to the press release that accompanied with this album.

Departures is quite an expansive, bold, brash and wonderfully exciting album that takes many different genres and sounds which the band give a fresh spin. There are 15 songs on the record and the album runs for almost 78 minutes. So Filthy Hippies have a lot to say on this record but if you’re in the mood for a more daring, darker and “DEVILISH” style of Psychedelic Rock with glorious “POP” based hooks and grooves then Filthy Hippies demand your full undivided attention.

The band are inspired by the 60s Phil Spector sound and the 80s Shoegaze scene with that timeless Psychedelic Rock vibe that’s the main “thrust” of this album. Filthy Hippies do employ a lot of sonic distortion on this record and that’s evident from the excellent opening song – Spirit. With it’s heavy riffs and world-weary atmosphere, the band revel in their shoegaze surroundings and the vocals are the icing on the cake for a trippy dark experience.

If you’re a fan of bands such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Jesus And Mary Chain and even Slowdive for the more atmospheric parts of the album. Though, Filthy Hippies create their own blend of addictive and original music to make themselves known with.

I would love to do a song-by-song review for an album such as this but there are too many songs to consider but I will list my favourite songs to check out: Mystified, You’re The Sun, The Recipe, Among The Wire, Dethroned, and Empty Spaces.

These are the parts of the album that I enjoyed the most with Filthy Hippies impressing me even further with their wild style of music that has an almost “global” feel. One of the main strengths of this album is the “Ambient” based noises the band employ on this record. It shouldn’t really work but to Filthy Hippies credit, it moves this album into top-level Experimental Rock.

The production techniques used on the record is another highlight that seamlessly blends all the different elements held on the record.

Obviously, Departures isn’t going to be for everyone but if you’re in the mood for a challenging and complex listen then Filthy Hippies could be worth a listen. It’s an album that you need to be in a certain mood to fully listen to but when you do listen to Departures, you’ll find things that you’ve missed first time round.

Overall, Departures is an exciting record that dares to be different.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Warren ant Plug Music Agency for the promo. Departures will be available to buy on DD via Mongrel Records from April 23rd 2021.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp