Psychic Lemon - The Unheimlich Kingdom (2024) [Hi-Res]

2024 on Drone Rock Records is kicking off in style with the welcome return of Psychic Lemon and their 4th studio album, ‘The Unheimlich Kingdom’. It’s been over four years since the band’s last studio album, ‘Freak Mammal’ (released at the tail end of 2019 on Drone Rock Records), and this is their first record since downsizing to a two-piece following the departure of bass player Andy Hibberd. It is the band’s darkest yet, full of unrelenting repetition and piled high with dense slabs of sound, a total contrast to the sounds of their self-titled debut vinyl release on Drone Rock Records way back in 2016.

In the words of the band themselves:-

“Dark days as subjects of the Unheimlich Kingdom. Disorder and decay our daily fare. Long shadows cast their cold grip over the land, darkened even more by the terror of flaming brutalisms that rise high in the sky. A cruel austere hand choked the life-breath of public services and plunges a knife into the heart of kindness. Estranged from the familiar, we shouldn’t be here. We are unwelcome. We have been downgraded and degraded. Our banks filled with other people’s food and our minds polluted with poison. Our expectations have been downsized. Zombie economics and vampire capitalism – metaphors morph into representation. Haunted by a mythic past and paralysed by an unthinkable future, as we stare out of the window, horror fictions transform into reality. Let the bodies pile high and the land sink into the sea.”

It is a grim, powerful record and perfectly encapsulates these dark and, quite frankly, depressing times. It is the sound of a band rallying against the status quo and simply stating “enough is enough”; a true reflection of a dystopian future that has already descended on us.

“‘…in my opinion, Psychic Lemon’s best yet. It showcases a band at the height of their powers who are not afraid to mix things up a bit but still retain their raison d’etre. It is a magnificent beast; muscular and powerful, borne of righteous rage. It is the sound of a band finding catharsis through music, a way of communicating their disquiet about modern life in the UK but without resorting to shouting into an echo chamber. That alone is something to be applauded. Bravo lads, bravo.”

Sun & Violence

“When they are at ease Psychic Lemon sound like a maelstrom of fury. Here they are not at ease and the damage this record will cause is immense. Embrace the agony.”

Isolation