Villalog – Space Trash

Even if titles like Orange Sunshine and Wall of Echoes signpost the odd slip into motorik-bound pastiche, Austrian trio Villalog are more discerning psych revivalists than many of the echo pedal-toting troupes pestering the clubs at the moment. Their self-titled debut LP in 2003 was borne more out of an interest in the European techno scene than any bong-huffing two-note revelations and, over a decade and three albums on, Space Trash retains the sense of seeking to induce a physical, as well as cerebral reaction.

Faust co-founder Hans Joachim Irmler is on co-production duties, but it’s the sleeker chrome facades of Neu! or Kraftwerk that Villalog evoke alongside their 4/4 tendencies. Düsseldorf Dub floats over its underpinning repetition with an airiness, while even Bassknopf’s more expansive jams exert a deft control over their guitar swells. Only on the blistering NVN do they truly cut free, not that they always need to on this thoughtfully dextrous record. [Simon Jay Catling]