Psy Stories – Parvati

I love Parvati. But whenever a new CD from them arrives, it’s not without trepidation that it gets slotted into psyreviews’ limited edition, industry-only, gold plated CDJs. I always get this scared feeling, that the universe might shift and warp around the music, and never be the same again, and what if it turns my head into a toaster, or what happens if the world suddenly has to walk around with their genitals on top of their heads. Quite. Anyway, Psystories is pretty nice but it’s far from the label’s best. Mussy Moody’s Magnetic FX kicks off in true parvati style, it’s mental and it’s angry and it wants to know what you had for breakfast – and it wants to know NOW. Plenty of up-down rhythm on this, true stuff for peak time forest shenanigans. Hokus Pokus cause my psychiatrist to rub his hands with glee with Zim Zalabim, a frenetic and pacey bit of oops-too-much-ketamine. The ever-gnarly Jahbo doesn’t fail to disappoint with the wonderfully-titled Chronic Mnemonic; sawcut sweeps and swoops keep it moving, until an incredible slowdown and break interrupts, before flinging you off on one of the tightest rides on the whole album. Snap, Crackle & Pop pull a blinder with Where Is Pop?, a shifting and sifting tune that’s got more different personalities than a busload of bipolar penguins, and with a drop that’s so involving and beefy it’s – dare I say it? – it’s killa. Judging by Goa Gelvede Til, Grapes Of Wrath are still pissed off. This one sodomises you violently, gives you a dirty sanchez, wipes its cock on your curtains and then messes up all your vinyl before leaving the door open on its way out. Harsher, it’s frowny and crunchy stuff. A collaboration between Kindzadza and Jahbo ought to be a bit special – but with KinJahJah’s What Has Begun Cannot Be Stopped it doesn’t really live up. It’s technically fine, and the noises there are nice and they all move around in a nice way. It’s fine, but there’s no energy, no spark. It doesn’t grab the attention like, for example, Derango’s The Arm, one of his best tracks yet. It builds and thunks just like you’d expect, then has this crazy, delectable, fat midline slapped right across the front of house. The break is cheeky and stutters you back into bassline heaven (or hell, depending on what kind of day you’re having)… but at the end of the day, it works because it’s damn full of energy. Sparkin’ everywhere. It’s just stunning. Strangers’ Moruka is cracking, it’s got a sort of daylight-coming vibe… you can see the night start to turn into dawn on the horizons with this one. A more upforit sound, but still gnarly. Finally Red I Jedeye’s Mind Expansions is a more experimental track, slightly less danceable and less focussed but as far as listening goes, you couldn’t hope for a more engrossing track. All in all, this is pretty good stuff from Parvati. You won’t fall out of love with them on this, but as psyreviews has said before in recent weeks, the whole dark thing is starting to grate – Psystories isn’t up to the high watermark Parvati releases that really astounded, but it’s a good slice of fodder for the nighttime DJs.