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Hypnocoustics - Transformational Structures Liquid Records, 2015 1. Eye Of The Hurricane 2. Hylozoism 3. Transformational Structures 4. Artificer 5. Sunsets & Skin Grafts 6. Foxy 7. Fourth Quadrant 8. Pyrokinetic 9. Cosmic Evolution http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/lir/lir1cd018.html https://liquidrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hypnocoustics-transformational-structures-lp-vol-1-3-free-download I vaguely remember to have stumbled upon Hypnocoustics name few years back, due to them being in collaboration with someone more 'famous' but never really bothered to investigate further. I thought "WTF does that name even mean? Hypno-a-coustics surely?". Anyway, I had my 2nd chance with recent V/A Avant Garden from TIP Records where they teamed up with Cosmosis and boy am I glad I did check it this time! Hypnocoustics are two UK gents, releasing psychedelic trance music since 2011, appearing on numerous compilations and already two full-length albums on Liquid Records. Interestingly, this 2nd album is a collection of 3 EP-s released earlier digitally, therefore - in addition to physical CD - you can download it for free on lablel's Bandcamp page. So, how is the music? Well, imagine a Nano Records or TIP Records contemporary release, with all the energy and high production value, but without the cringe worthy full-on clichés like mind-numbing drum-roll / alarm breakdowns, ham-fisted fake euphoric moments, stupid voice samples, overused & recycled sound-presets and by-the-numbers arrangements. Instead, add a dense, chunky & thick sound production, oozing with rich mid-frequency acid lines, creative sound effects, decent amount of good melody and atmospherics, well-chosen sci-fi movie samples and that's basically it... The album is pretty consistent in its style, but particular tracks lean one way or the other - some are slower, with almost Zenon-esque attention to detail ("Eye Of The Hurricane", "Foxy"), some focus more on gentle melodic tones and dreamy atmospheres a' la early Protoculture (title track "Transformational Structures", "Artificer") and other go full-on with banging, twisted acid swirls Cosmosis / Shakta wouldn't be ashamed of ("Fourth Quadrant", "Sunsets & Skin Grafts", "Pyrokinetic" with Cosmosis). By all means, it's nothing new under the sun and the typical full-on galloping bass lines will discourage lots of people, but the sheer consistency of how great it sounds throughout is astounding - this is full-on done right! Most of the tracks avoid the typical 'peak' moment as well, so it does sound samey and blends together at first, but few times in it becomes clear that there's always a very intricate, often subtle progression and that there's not a dull moment - it always pushes forward, sometimes you'll only notice it after 10th listen. As such, there are no bad tracks and no real stand-outs either. Every each last one is at least very good! Normally, I'd rate this 4/5 because it is not essential for everyone, just (really!) essential for those into full-on subgenre of psychedelic/goa trance and is easily the best (and more consistent) full-on album since Master Blasters' "Life Changing Experience". However, since it is available for free in a legal way, there's no excuse not to try it by literally everyone. 5/5 Review by Antic