Words: Richie Yates, Photos: Adrian Wharton/Richie Yates
Hazel’s Maze are a band hitting their stride of late. After a few experiments with lineups and some slight changes in style (all good mind) they suddenly seem on it. Pounding rhythms from the drums and bass with a cascading guitar floating on top and then there’s that voice. It crystal clear, almost choir like and elevates The Maze to a transcendent level.
Mid performance the drum kit appears to disintegrate and swaps of parts are made on the fly, credit to the drummer for keeping it altogether but there is a collective laugh as it appears all is now ok, only for a drum stick to break in mid roll. The hiccups are overcome seamlessly and the music floats on, a more than satisfying set from a band set to move up the gears.
Helicon are current stars in waiting on the Psych scene. Here there are six of them cramming more equipment on stage than the stage appears to be able to hold. Most of them seem to have multiple instruments, ‘you play keys, can you manage a Sitar too?’
Then the band begin and all the fuss is worth it. Its a walk through the gardens of psychedelia, forever swirling and travelling without arriving, an endless musical journey, until, well, it ends. After nearly an hour the captivating noise reaches a crescendo and then is gone. Its chaotic and hits all the corners of their musical genre with gentle floating passages, complex changes and repetition until your ears are bleeding and your mind fades out of the real world and becomes consumed by this odyssey.
Links:
Helicon:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeliconGlasgow
Web: https://www.heliconglasgow.com/
Bandcamp: https://heliconglasgow.bandcamp.com/
Hazel’s Maze:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hazelsmazeband
Bandcamp: https://mindexodusrecordings.bandcamp.com
Dark Matter Promotions:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarkMatterProm