Syd Arthur are not 60s psychedelic revivalists, despite their
Barrett-referencing band name. But the Kent band’s music is trippy in the best sense: it takes the listener to unexpected places, using complexity and invention to create a unique experience. Apricity, Syd Arthur’s third album, was recorded in California with producer Jason Falkner, and a slick 70s ambience pervades. The insanely catchy No Peace has jazzy chords worthy of Steely Dan, while Rebel Lands is as musically precocious as Todd Rundgren. Not that there’s anything retro about Apricity: the repetitive patterns of Portal betray a love of techno, while the big crunching chords of Sun Rays and the minor-key spaces of Into Eternity bring to mind those other 21st-century psych overlords Tame Impala. Yet even while executing stop-start rhythms of a song such as Coal Mine, Syd Arthur never forget to write a tune for the sake of muso self-indulgence. There is a lightness to Liam Magill’s voice: it’s soulful without over-emoting, like Paul McCartney or Glenn Tilbrook.
