Indica Ritual
Unreleased material from vintage post-punk upstarts Indica Ritual has appeared on Soundcloud; Getintothis’ Matthew Eland investigates.
Two unreleased Indica Ritual tracks have surfaced on Soundcloud.
The group, which quietly disbanded around 2010, will be familiar to many gig-goers around the north west. Members of the acclaimed five-piece have gone on to prominence elsewhere, making Indica Ritual a key node in the Liverpool-music schematic.
Some of them went on to be in Outfit, the hotly tipped group that recorded two albums on Double Denim and Memphis Industries.
Andrew PM Hunt is currently part of Ex-Easter Island Head, when he’s not playing sax for Forest Swords or releasing solo material as Dialect.
Tom Gorton is the editor of Dazed and one half of hip-hop duo God Colony.
As such, the parts that comprised the whole of Indica Ritual were certainly no slouches, and these new old tracks showcase why.
Popular Mechanics’ tight, maximalist intro segues into Hot Club de Paris time changes and staccato delivery. There’s an earworm chorus and a Pink-Panther-violin middle eight, recalling by turns the inventiveness of Talking Heads and the energy of Dananananaykroyd.
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Highway Code is more straightforward. It has the airy, synth-led swagger of Battles and Foals, with a sci-fi, Vangelis synth line; perhaps reflecting the areas Outfit would go on to explore.
Like previously released Indica Ritual tracks Seamless Ejaculation and Alpha Male, they’re complicated, labyrinthine efforts. Despite being ten years old, the songs still sound fresh, and they echo the freneticism and confidence of contemporary acts such as black midi and W.H. Lung.
Sadly, the group never recorded a full album, which makes the release of these tracks bittersweet. However, they serve as snapshots encapsulating the spirit of the time; of wanton nights of hedonism in the Kazimier and Bumper in the aftermath of the Capital of Culture year.
Indica Ritual may not have conquered the world, by they were certainly a valuable staging post in the creative life of a loose collective of individuals who continue to excite and innovate.
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