SCHIZO FUN ADDICT

The Last Wave

LKaleidoscopic psych-pop vibes from the East Coast.

istening to New York/ New Jersey trio Schizo Fun Addict, it’s evident that the sideburns and kaftans are not just strapped on for the weekend. Frontman Jet Wintzer has stated the importance of bands like The Stone Roses and Bossa Nova maestro Sergio Mendes in his musical upbringing and that shared DNA drifts through The Last Wave. Dream It All is a sunshine-laden, languid stroll on the promenade. Sun Daze, meanwhile, suggests The Velvet Underground’s Venus In Furs in Rex Shelverton’s twanging six-string, but exchanges the sex and paranoia for a sort of stoned roll in the sand.

It’s not simply a slavishly retro recreation, though, there are echoes of contemporary psych types, like Amen Dunes in Whiskey’s powerful reverberations. The effect throughout – from the blissful early-70s Beach Boys vibes of opener Peace Walks By My Side to the sun-stroked Crossing Over and night-walking line-up of later track Expressway – is sort of like a boozy day at the New Jersey shore. You can almost hear the sun rise, scorch the day and disappear into dark, bar room oblivion. Together, the whole thing is a swirling, addictive rabbit hole of a record. MP