As tents were packed up and an unfortunately garbage-strewn field was being cleared, the emptiness of Carson Creek Ranch after a weekend of truly psychedelic proportions could have been a sad scene, but midst hastily making plans to return next year we now have a moment of calm to think of all the new music we learned about over the course of these three days. So instead of dwelling on the festival’s end and the return to life, this is ripe time to hit the computer and listen to those new bands that maybe you didn’t come into the festival knowing but came out of loving. An easy favorite for this is the Holydrug Couple, world travelers hailing from Santiago, Chile.
A top member of the bourgeoning Chilean psychedelic movement, Holydrug Couple is the creative work of Ives Sepúlveda and Manuel Parra. Set apart from other known bands of that scene, Holydrug Couple offers a more pop and blues infused sound that easily translates and lends itself to the American ear. This was apparent from the entranced attention the crowd bestowed upon the band during their set.
Holydrug Couple played Austin Psych Fest’s Elevation Stage, which sat comfortably at the bottom of a hill on the banks of the alligator-infused Colorado River. While it might be counterintuitive to call a stage that sits at the bottom of a hill the Elevation Stage, the name came to fruition with Holydrug Couple’s entrancing set. The band provided a perfect soundtrack to the early evening with their enthused ambience leading us like titans into the night.
The band released its latest album, Noctuary, earlier this year on Sacred Bones Records. It marks a slight change for the band as they slow down their sound and diffuses the edges a bit of their previous work. It was a time-intensive creation for Sepúlveda, who produced and engineered the album himself. The work shows in what will easily be an album on my docket for the foreseeable future.
For those of you who just couldn’t get enough, or couldn’t get a way to Austin, Holydrug Couple will be playing Liverpool Psych Fest in September and, if their dedication to psych fests past and present holds steady, I’m sure we’ll be seeing them again soon. In the meantime, you can check out Noctuary and earlier work on Holydrug Couple’s bandcamp.
