Psych-rock heaviness has long been one of Japan’s prime exports. Much of this outpouring came via the P.S.F. label starting in the mid-1980s, but there were other pockets of expansionist scorch, including Up-Tight, a Hamamatsu-based band formed in the early ’90s. More recently, Up-Tight’s vocalist-guitarist Tomoyuki Aoki has persevered with his own trio, now three albums deep. Their latest full-length offers five doses of raw brain-melt burning bright near the very apex of the psychedelic style. High Oxygen Blood by the Tomoyuki Trio is out now on vinyl through Feeding Tube Records.
Psychedelia is amongst rock music’s finest pleasures, but there have surely been recurring stumbles and flat-out faceplants of qualitative consistency within the style over the decades, particularly regarding matters of strained ambitiousness, along with attempts at outward exploration that meander. There are also numerous examples of bands that value reverence for earlier eras (mistakes and all) through replication rather than embracing true progression.
That’s part of why the heavy Japanese stuff referenced above has accrued such a sterling reputation. The bands aren’t universally perfect, but there is a remarkably high standard leading into the 21st century, spurred in no small part by Up-Tight, which featured Tomoyuki Aoki in the scheme from 1992 to 2024. The Tomoyuki Trio falters not a bit in carrying the heavy psych torch; the records are right up there with the best of P.S.F., which includes White Heaven, High Rise, and more.
“Echoes of the Last Word” opens High Oxygen Blood with stinging, stabbing guitar, gnawing bass distortion, and echoey, submerged vocals. As has been observed, the Tomoyuki Trio can conjure up thoughts of the Stooges, particularly in how the sound gets gloriously bent as the heaviness is in no hurry.
Midway through the hazy lope, there’s a cymbal-led reset and then a double down that culminates in a rocket blast of amp gristle. “Between The River & Sea” rises up with some brief celestial glisten before the band kicks in with another slow pulse of gradually rising collective intensity.
The title track is a true delight: slow-burn groove-riding, blistering mayhem that continually raises the level of acidic flow as the vocals drop out entirely. “Invitation to the Void” shifts into exquisitely doomy voice repetition that extends for nearly the entire track, only to be overtaken by a thick cloud of colorful distortion.
“Melting Time” kicks it up a notch in terms of tempo and connects like High Oxygen Blood’s true standout. Bassist Mike Vest and drummer Dave Sneddon are effectively cooking, and Tomoyuki Aoki’s guitar glides and soars as it burns. The album’s tracks do spread out but don’t overstay their welcome. The cuts cohere into a fine introduction to the Tomoyuki Trio and to contemporary heavy psych in general.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
