Album Review: Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - And Now For The Whatchamacallit

More than any of Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ past works, And Now For The Whatchamacallit feels like an adventure, the kind of record that makes you forget there’s a floor beneath your feet. It’s a cohesive, well designed whole with sky-high production values. But while it’s hard to find a weak track given the band’s love of jarring notes, complex structures and tendency to fly off at multiple tangents, it’s perhaps short of a stadium-filling anthem. Social Candy comes fairly close to fulfilling that order though, with its triumphant strut and Brian May-esque soloing. 

Still, there’s a strong suspicion that the live treatment of these psychedelic jaunts will be even more effective, given their call-to-arms energy and lack of obvious verse-chorus, verse-chorus arcs. A case in point would be Bill’s Mandolin. It’s an unabashed riff-fest but also has a touching backstory, dedicated to frontman Jack McEwan’s grandfather and the treasured instrument he passed onto his grandson. It’s one of a number of album highlights and an exhilarating demonstration of how Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ explosive energy can meld complex, contradictory parts into one sprightly, fluorescent trip.