ninehertz

Lammping have long been one of our favourite happy psych bands at ninehertz, featuring three times on our podcast since we came across them in the early Covid days of 2020. They're from Toronto and have always had a distinctive, summery vibe. And now they're pushing their fresh sounds into surprising new avenues. Never Never is the first showcase of their new approach, a mini album collaboration with Bloodshot Bill, sample driven and branching out wide and far.

How far can psych rock go you ask? Well, the introduction to the title track is jazz and hip hop styled, so... yeah, pretty far. For a band that have never shied away from moving outside genre norms, this still took me unawares. It is however undeniably cool, a defining trait of this band from the beginning, which makes sense when they describe their formation through a shared love of 90's New York hip hop, skate videos and the Beach Boys.

It is still light-touch dreamily psychedelic in mood, even as the loungey jazz takes centre stage. The songs are all short - only one passes three minutes - and it feels free and easy in that way, trying new ideas but not overstaying their welcome. Needless to say, I haven't got the frames of reference to do this justice, so I'll just say this is resplendent with "jazz piano" - the musical references it does reminds me of are all over the place, from even someone like Mr Scruff, to the bizarro rock of Bulbul's Hirn Fein Hacken album and primarily of course the backing tracks of old school hip hop.

Won't Back Down is the closest to the usual sun and surf psych of Lammping past, but this is then followed by a track primarily focussed on mixing and sampling. This isn't our usual ninehertz fare, but then Lammping aren't a usual band. Never Never is not twenty minutes long, the first of four experiments, trying new things. It promises to be a real trip to see where else they go.