H.P. Lovecraft – Electrallentando

Taking their name from the renowned American writer of sci-fi dipped horror fiction and enthusiastic racist, H.P. Lovecraft were a Chicago-formed, psychedelic rock band who decamped to San Francisco and became entrenched in its underground scene for the brief period of time (1967 – 1968) they remained together as a unit.

In the time that H.P. Lovecraft existed in their original form they released two albums; the imaginatively titled H.P. Lovecraft and H.P. Lovecraft II. It is from the second album that ‘Electrallentando’ is taken.

This haunting, largely experimental track begins with a prolonged shivering of shimmery bells that sounds a little like something slowly shambling towards the listener adorned in wind chimes. The song slowly seeps into the consciousness with a blend of spaced-out organ sounds and a gentle guitar melody, supported by the occasional beat of a mystical drum, until the words “Whirling… Twirling… Swirling…” drift through on the ethereal breeze.

‘Electrallentando’ practically drips with the essence of the late 60′s counter culture, evoking images of incense heavy bedsits with beaded curtains in place of doors and folk sat around toking joints and sipping hooch. With allusions to flying and dreaming constant throughout, its trippiness weighs as heavy as the intermittent beat of the bass drum, building gradually to a ‘White Rabbit’ style crescendo before floating effortlessly away on a faint ripple of sound.

Not one for everybody as its unconventional form and lack of standard structure may be off-putting to those weaned on the jaunty pop-psych of say, Grapefruit or Tomorrow, but for those willing to sit back and unlock their mind, ‘Electrallentando” is a superior slice of psychedelic rock. One that will certainly leave you – as it did this reviewer – wanting to hear a lot more of the H.P. Lovecraft sound.

‘Electrallentando’ appears on the album H.P. Lovecraft II available from Amazon.co.uk

Don’t just read and applaud. Subscribe to the rather splendid RSS Feed

psychedelic rock, song reviews