THE HARE & HOOFE

Unhinged Brit psych splendour with a twinkle in its eye.

If you’re one of the discerning few that thrilled to The Hare And Hoofe’s White Blindness single from 2017, which sounded like a long lost Atomic Rooster gem with bonus acid folk flute, you’ll already know that the future of eccentric psychedelic rock is in safe hands. In fact, that sneak preview gave little indication of the deeply unhinged splendour that unfurls across The Terror Of Melton’s 25 mad-eyed minutes. A remorseless feast of fuzzed-up riffing, twinkling psych pop keys and Revillos-gone-prog vocal high-jinks, it’s a masterclass in rambunctious minisymphonies; the Londoners’ exuberance driving everything forward like a drugged-up wizard on a BMX. From the neurotic garage rock stomp of I Was A Scientist (1892) to the pulsating space rock attack of the title track and the jaunty thud of Chromium Dioxide And The Crazy Data, everything is lysergic, tune-filled gold. Whether in episodic form or in one big chunk, it’s all absurdly entertaining and deliciously weird. The fact that you can grab it for free from the band’s Bandcamp page makes it an unmissable trip for fans of the fuzzy and far-out.