Dean McPhee
Astral Gold

Time: T minus 3 minutes.
Launch Control: McPhee you're go for launch.
Dean McPhee: Roger!
Time: ten, nine, eight, seven...

Are you ready to lift off your butt from Earth for a sound journey into the deep cosmos with Dean McPhee? Of course, you're not, we're debaserians, not astronauts, the question was rhetorical!

"Astral Gold" by Dean McPhee clearly wins the golden palm for the most interesting listening experience this month. According to my very humble opinion, of course.

This is the fifth studio album by Dean McPhee, an introspective British guitarist based in Yorkshire. In the artist's career, "Astral Gold" represents a further shift from the folk that characterized his early works to a heavier, electric, and deeper sound.

"Astral Gold" is an entirely instrumental album, where McPhee's spatial minimalism and celestial psychedelic guitar create a liquid and viscous celestial vault that drips in slow motion. McPhee draws from a wide range of influences from Kosmische Muzik, Dub, Doom Rock, Folk, and alternative electronic music.

A noteworthy detail for the final outcome is that the entire album was recorded live in one continuous performance, loaded with tension. Echoes, pulsations, waves, and loops hypnotize the listener, leading them on an interstellar journey; not by chance, the cosmic theme is present in all the tracks, the cover (also magnificent) and the track titles do nothing to hide it.

The sensation that remains in your ears is that of a live concept tribute to the cosmos, highly recommended.