Turn this to 9.3 of 11 - Editors' Pick
Released: 2014
Genre: Stoner rock, Psychedelic rock, Sludge
Sounds Like: Pelican, Russian Circles, Glowsun
Our journey to find the next obscure psychedelic rock gem is always an enthralling adventure. We come across some duds here and there and some decent bands that will grab our attention on occasion, but every once in a while we find one that just flat out captivates us. Les Lekin from Salzburg, Austria is one of these “obscure gems”. Rounding out this three-piece band is Peter G. (Guitar), Stefan W. (Bass) and Kerstin W. (Drums) and their debut release; All Black Rainbow Moon is a fantastic work of art from the album cover right down to the last note. Their blend of psychedelic stoner rock is heavy, melodic and trippy, it will pull you into its vortex and absorb you for the full 48:73 minutes. There are only six instrumental tracks on this album, but as you can see from the song lengths below, they leave room for tons of exploration, letting the songs breathe take on a life of their own.
Track Listing:
1. Intro 1:39
2. Solum 8:29
3. Useless 6:35
4. Allblack 10:10
5. Loom 13:16
6. Release 9:41
The intro to this album is an enlightening path into the world of Les Lekin, it’s a soft guitar driven instrumental that leads us directly into “Solum”. On this track we are subject to a full array of heavy, psychedelic and doom compositions. The bass work is brooding and provides a substantial foundation for this song. The music is very ominous and trippy, the drums complement the bass very well while the guitars add an intoxicating and transcendent layer. This leads us into the third cut “Useless” with no break and it’s a flawless transition. This song is very fluent; its soft demeanor will captivate you as each instrument has its place and will hold your attention. They take their time and let this track develop, at 2:54 into the song it suddenly builds as the heaviness is turned up a notch. The guitar really shines on this one; it has an early Electric Wizard fuzz to it. Again, we are taken to the next song “Allblack” with no break. We must mention that when a band can fuse songs together it just enhances the experience and they keep this up throughout the entire album. “Allblack” has a Pelican or Russian Circles style to it as the music just builds and becomes full; to be honest it has a triumphant quality about it. It’s not all doom and gloom folks.
The next track “Loom” starts with some reverberated feedback, when the rhythm is introduced around the 2:24 mark, we begin to wonder where this song will take us and it is just terrific exploration happening here. We are soon led to some sonic doom-like heaviness that challenges our Paradigm speakers. In fact this whole track just rattled our systems a bit, even during the mellow moments; the bass has such a deep, rich sound. This will lead us into the final song “Release” and man this one is a trip. It’s angelic and brooding at the same time making for a beautiful track. The simplistic, lonely guitar, the soft cymbal tapping and steady bass come together perfectly. There seems to be a subtle Colour Haze quality about this track. The break-downs are what seem to draw us into this song and the album as a whole. There are plenty of them and are timed perfectly, making the heavier parts sound even sweeter making for a very well balanced album.
Les Lekin is truly a talented band and seems focused on the direction they want to go. They are not just another instrumental Pelican-like band that will get lost in the shuffle; the musicianship is too impressive. We can only imagine the sound they bring forward in a show, it must be dynamic. They definitely have left the door wide open to explore other avenues which enable them to dive into other genres and grow as a band. - 12/15/2014
Standout Tracks: Release, Allblack
Follow Les Lekin: Bandcamp