Julie's Haircut

Psychedelic and progressive rock have a storied past in Italy, and it's refreshing to see that a new generation of Italian rock groups have taken up the torch. Julie's Haircut have been pumping out their own version of psych-prog since the '90s, and have had fruitful collaborations with the likes of Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, Spectrum), Damo Suzuki (Can) and American composer Philip Corner. Ashram Equinox is the sixth full-length release from this five-piece ensemble and is the first album since their debut, Fever in the Funk House, to purposefully avoid the use of words and lyrics. Julie's Haircut use their voices as instruments across this sprawling cassette, which plays out as a single continuous stream of kaleidoscopic, rhythm-heavy psychedelia. Incorporating elements of experimental electronics, funk, jazz, global rhythms, and dub stylings, Ashram Equinox is one of those records that strays beyond genre boundaries, all the while maintaining a devout sense of the psychedelic.