In 2023, I reviewed a release from Canadian (Newfoundland, to be precise) outfit, Elder Caius, enjoyed its eclectic feel, and looked forward to hearing a whole album of new material. Click on the button below to see what I thought of Alien Space Bats/From Below

The promised full album, self-titled, has now arrived, and I am happy to point your educated and discerning listening palettes to https://eldercaius.bandcamp.com/album/elder-caius because Evan Watton (Guitar, Programming), Nathan Cluett (Bass; Programming on Tracks 5 & 7, Guitar on Track 7), alongside the Grand Piano performed by Katie Watton on Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 have provided us with a ten track psych delight, well worth your attention. I also love the cover.

I played All the Way Down Now on my Progzilla Radio show 21st June, and it went down very well in the chat room, so let’s take a deeper dive into the ten tracks on offer here.

We start off with Curious Entities, something as a corporate compliance officer I see every single day! Immediately, Katie’s skills on the grand piano are apparent, and she makes a massive contribution to the sound of the album. I like this track. A dreamy, spacey start to proceedings with the noises and effects above the piano core, with a rumbling bass as well. It is embedded below for you to enjoy as a decent indicator of what you can expect to hear on the remainder of the album. Spartan on first listen but packing quite a lot in a short space of time.

All the Way Down Now has a massive heavy burst after a deceiving couple of seconds’ quiet, this is in parts anthemic, others orchestral, with some pulsing guitar riffs, alongside an old-style radio announcer voice providing the theme I take as a commentary on us as a civilisation, and there is some anger in there. This is one of those tracks the more you listen, the more you are impressed.

Obelisk. They were originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians, but to me, the most famous examples were those black as black structures in Clarke & Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey. The feel, however, is more of the middle east variety than those found on the moon. It is trancey and mesmerising, a strong mix of the post rock and psych, again so much packed into a relatively short period of time. Those of you who enjoy the heavier end of the spectrum, but alongside the ability to turn the taps off at a moment’s notice and entrance the listener, will love this. It is embedded below.

Dead Letter Queue is, apparently, a service implementation to store messages that a messaging system cannot or should not deliver. You learn something new every day on this website, dear reader. There is a long passage of silence, a sense of anticipation as each second passes, and when you are conscious of the notes, they are soft, building up to something, but when the change arrives, it is not the explosion you might have expected, but something far more laid back and experimental. However, some heaviness does arrive, with some fascinating skin work at the core of it, and some interesting interplay between guitars and piano. The final passage reverts to that almost deathly silence, fading away mysteriously. A fascinating track.

Tomb of the Unknown King is interesting. The keys take me back to those classic film noir days, the hero of the piece walking through a dark passage, waiting to meet his nemesis. This band use silence so well, and when the opening passage ceases, there is an effective pause before the keys announce the discovery of the eponymous tomb, a sense of wonder and anticipation pressing you to explore further, what riches or horrors await? The crunching riffs bring us the corpse laughing at us.

Anomaly follows, and it is somewhat different from the norm. I like the bass rhythm to start, the lightness of touch on the keys, the Crimsonesque guitar solo, the state of trance created by the piano and keys, and the spacey funk which then dominates before the rush of blood to the head with the guitar riffs.

Lights Out, Mr Monkey Wrench! Is a huge contender for this website’s prestigious “title of the year” award this December. The opening effects create a swarm coming towards you, before a complete change of direction into something you might well hear emanating from Nashville in its rockabilly roots, before the fuzz and distorted guitar you would recognise from early Oldfield takes us into a sort of hard eastern themed rock burst. The inventiveness and sheer adventurism of Elder Caius is really something to be admired. It is not something you will hear anywhere else.

Splatter Phoenix follows, another wonderful title. What it is about, only this lot and the dear lord know, but it is another interesting piece mixing retro psych with more modern post rock themes, a glorious noise created when it flings itself out at you from the speakers, and in parts, extremely catchy with about as close as they get to displaying commercial sensibilities.

Werewolves are those lycanthropic creatures so beloved by us fans of classic horror, both American and Hammer. It is very short, and almost a penultimate interlude before the final piece and, I believe, seeks to reveal the chaotic inner workings of the mind of the creatures. Calm and pleasant it isn’t.

We close with Aeropsia, which based upon the Greek root can be translated as “seeing the air”. In true psych fashion, it is linked to Dictionary of Hallucinations. The drumbeat is relentless, and the noises above disturbing, the guitar riffs pounding away at the fear of the inner mind before another clever pause gives way to the impression of self mesmerised by what it is witnessing, scared, but unable to move, the clouds of the images swirling around your head, perhaps lightening then to reveal a glimpse of the light infinite, you soaring up to meet it, the silence which follows nirvana.

There we go. I like this type of album, and not just for the musicianship and production, both of which are top notch, but for its ability to encourage the listener to place interpretation at the forefront of the musical experience.

It is not for those of you who enjoy the melodic spectrum of progressive rock to the exclusion of all others (and there is nothing wrong with that – I pass no judgement whatsoever), but it will strongly appeal to those of you who like to sit down and have your head and senses messed about with, an experimentation set to music.