Large Plants

★★★ The Carrier GHOST BOX. CD/DL/LP

Late-’60s heavy-psych vibes from Wolf People side-project.

First came Paul Weller in 2020, now comes Jack Sharp of Wolf People’s new project to Ghost Box: the record label that through analogue electronics, folk and psychedelia mines the eerier sides of sepiatinted nostalgia. The Carrier comes across like a late-’60s soundtrack to an underground biker film that occasionally veers towards horror – Uneasy Rider, perhaps? – with every overdriven guitar riff, meaty drum roll and West Coast harmony recorded by Sharp on his own in 2020’s Covid summer (Deerhoof’s Chris Cohen then mixed it last year). It’s largely great fun, its combination of heavy rock and Californian sunshine working best in the chase-scene vibes of No Difference and Don’t Let Me Down. Softer songs like Marceline and Hold Onto also charm, but float away after a while, as does the smoke of certain herbs when exhaled. Jude Rogers