English psychedelic outfit The Chemistry Set is coming back with a double single release physically on January 19^th and digitally on January 15^th, and they have granted ARDENTLY a special look into what they’ve crafted.

This release features two new tracks from the band – “STP” and “The Tragic Fridge Magnet”. These tracks offer up two distinctly different flavors of psychedelic music – dark-toned baggy psych and bluesy psychedelic rock, respectively.

STP

“STP” feels very familiar to me, as a psychedelic rock fan. The guitars and bass play really well off each other – I really appreciated that the bass melodics were still pretty discernable, despite the guitars being pretty forward in the song, nearly burying the bass. I think I also detect a bit of funk influence in the way the bass is played – some of those plucky moments remind me of some 70s funk I’ve run across in my time.

The lyrics of “STP” tell the story of an LSD, or STP as it was known as in the 60s, trip where the tripping individual seems to make contact with celestial beings. Dave McLean of The Chemistry Set describes the song as being about “a heavy and deep but pleasant trip…a good old fashioned psychedelic trip!” – a pretty apt description to me!

The Tragic Fridge Magnet

I would argue that this pretty bluesy track is pretty darn campy. A song detailing the what-ifs of purchasing a souvenir fridge magnet, only to discover that it’s actually a cursed artefact from some tomb…seems pretty campy to me! The drums and percussion really push the song forward, with trumpets punctuating the verses and blues riffs closing the choruses. The way that the tension breaks with an instrumental pause each time the song’s title is said just scratches my brain the right way – it’s so simple, yet so effective, in briefly breaking the built tension.

It’s a fun song with good grooves layered in between this silly story of this troubled tourist’s experience. Paul Lake of The Chemistry Set explained that the story of “The Tragic Fridge Magnet” stemmed from his family’s penchant for purchasing such a souvenir on family vacations. As a fellow enjoyer of souvenir fridge magnets, I gotta say, I would be pretty surprised if one of my little tchotchkes ended up carrying a curse with it for just a couple bucks – that would be a lot more than I bargained for!

You can listen to The Chemistry Set’s upcoming release digitally on January 15^th on Bandcamp and get a physical record on January 19^th from Fruits de Mer records. You can find The Chemistry Set on Facebook and Bandcamp.