Description
PRE-ORDER NOW. RELEASE DATE IS 2nd MAY.
The Crystal Teardrop are undisputed leaders in the UK Psychedelic Garage Rock/Pop scene. Their debut album has finally arrived and what a kaleidoscopic treat it is!
Recorded at London’s Tilehouse Studios and was produced by analogue master Liam Watson (Toerag, White Stripes, Electric Wizard etc). The vinyl edition is a 100% analogue pressing, cut direct from tape to lacquer. Full stereophonic psychedelic sound!
The first 500 vinyl editions come in a stunning teardrop shaped die-cut sleeve.
First pressing:
x100 Clear vinyl diehard LP + A2 poster + exclusive
x150 Cerise vinyl LP
x250 Black vinyl LP
THE CRYSTAL TEARDROP
…Is Forming
Popclaw/Rise Above
The buzz about the Crystal Teardrop that has been growing for the past two years looks set to reach fever pitch with the release of their debut album THE CRYSTAL TEARDROP IS FORMING. Featuring a dozen memorable compositions by the band’s Alexandra Rose and Leon Jones, the album more than lives up to the promise of their 2024 single releases and their ecstatic live performances on stages across the UK and Europe.
The band formed in Stoke-on-Trent in early 2023, “inspired,” explains Alexandra Rose, “by a mutual passion for the sights, sounds and creative experimentation of the late 1960s.” In addition to Alexandra on lead vocals on guitar, the band comprises Leon Jones (guitar, sitar), Stuart Gray (keyboards, Mellotron), Ed Quigley (bass, vocals), and Huw Woodward (drums, percussion). Intuitively blending elements of garage rock, folk-rock, power pop and psychedelia, the band have created an appealing concoction infused with their own perspectives and personalities.
To best capture their sound, they recorded at an all-analogue facility, Tilehouse studio in North London, working closely with producer Liam Watson of Toe Rag fame. “Liam’s experience and technical know-how ensured that the recordings combine the essential elements of the band’s original material with the authentic feel of classic productions from the late 1960s,” explains Alexandra. “The analogue recording environment allowed the group to utilise a wide range of classic techniques including phasing and reversed tape as well as an original Leslie speaker for vocal effects.”
That authentic late ‘60s psychedelic feel is in full bloom on “Colours Changing”, the album’s opening track with its swirling harmonies, fizzing fuzz guitar, spacey Mellotron and woozy stop-start backbeat. It’s followed by the excellent “Through With You”, a hard-driving freakbeat number with a dynamic guitar hook and beefy Hammond organ trails. “Borrowed Time”, with its airy harmonies and Byrds-like 12-string guitar, shows the influence of the late sixties West Coast sound as well as the later Paisley Underground sound of the Rain Parade, who they pay direct homage to in a song of that name, “a tale of empowerment,” says Alexandra, “built around an insistent guitar riff which underscores the realisation that a final decision is necessary to end a difficult relationship.” Things get trippier on the superb “Two Hearts” with its multi-layered harmonies, weaving raga and wah-wah guitars and backwards percussion while a lighter touch is employed on the melancholic “For One More Day” with its tasteful applications of Mellotron, acoustic guitar and 12-string Rickenbacker.
Opening Side Two, “Into the Unknown” is a self-described “psychedelic odyssey” with Alexandra’s vocals filtered through a whirling Leslie speaker and Leon’s sitar providing some Eastern spice and sparkle. “Last Chance” is an infectious power pop winner with chiming Rickenbacker guitar and an ebullient lead vocal – imagine Blondie on blotter acid – while the speedy garage rocker “Turn You Down” comes across like a tougher version of the early Bangles, elevated by a screaming lead guitar break and stirring Hammond flourishes. The aquatic, Leslie-treated vocals come into play again, blending perfectly with Stuart Gray’s Hammond on “Stealing Suggestions”, a song, Alexandra explains, “inspired by that indefinable feeling of excitement when you meet someone new who is on your wavelength – a meaningful glance across the dancefloor.” The trippiness factor is ramped up even higher on “Nine Times Nine”, with its mesmerising treated vocals, phasing effects and trippy reverse tape coda. The album climaxes with the dynamic raga-infused psychedelic instrumental “Is Forming”, which she describes as “a love letter to Jefferson Airplane’s ‘Embryonic Journey’ but with an overwhelmingly heavier feel.”’
Mike Stax, Ugly Things Magazine USA
Side One
Colours Changing
Through With You
Borrowed Time
The Rain Parade
Two Hearts
For One More Day
Side Two
Into The Unknown
Last Chance
Turn You Down
Stealing Suggestions
Nine Times Nine
. …Is Forming
