Let me be honest, I didn’t even know psychedelic doom metal existed until I discovered AAWKS, and I can say the genre and the band have both become staples in my music arsenal. Out on December 8th, AAWKS is unleashing their latest EP, Luna.
Featuring two covers and originals, the band says this of Luna,
“LUNA – the goddess of the moon (Roman mythology). Cultures have been obsessed with the mysterious, magnetic wonders of the moon since the dawn of time. We’ve also been fascinated by ‘the unexplained’ and tried to make meaning of the messages in dreams or weird lights in the night sky. This collection of songs entitled LUNA each represent the aforementioned subjects in some way or another. We may not have the answers but we did our best to paint the feeling and thoughts one may have while walking down a path, alone in the woods at night or maybe waking up from an odd dream that left you questioning ‘what did that mean?”
Lead track, “The Figure” is cosmically heavy with bass, dirty guitars, and drums and served as an excellent peak into Luna.
The band said this of “The Figure”,
“‘The Figure’ picks up where we left off with Heavy on the Cosmic. Still heavily inspired by themes of the otherworldly, allegorical, fantastical, psychedelic and occult imagery of our first album but this time with a bit of a darker, more surrealistic twist. Heavy on the Cosmic used a Technicolor palette throughout most of our songs where the second album will play more in the darker corners of the room, in the shadows, where the candles flicker. This time we’re focused a bit more on the flights of the amygdala than distortions of the pineal. We’ve still travelled through portals to far off lands but this time will be set more in the wee hours, alone in a forest, near a swamp. This time will be more going to battle with our demons than picking mushrooms in the grove…”
As an 80’s kid, their cover of “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls is absolutely fantastic. Stripping away the neon vibrancy of the original, AAWKS give it an ‘out of breath’ haunting treatment with big basslines, heavy drums, and distorted vocals. For me, AAWKS captures the essence of lyrics of someone running from their feelings and makes the song even better.
Adding a wonderful psychedelic trippy ambience, AAWKS wonderfully covers Pink Floyd’s “Julia Dream” with Dan Trickett adding harmonies to the song.
For those who haven’t seen AAWKS live, “All is Fine” is a bit size taste of experiencing the band live. Recorded live at the Pøølhaüs in early 2022, it offers fans an abbreviated experience of what they could expect seeing the trio in person.
Through cosmic psychedelic heavy tracks, Luna is both a surreal and actual experience that offers a portal to an otherworldly sonic journey, leaving listeners craving more of AAWKS.
