Valerian Tea - Magic Fig (2025)

Modern pop that’s heavily informed by the 60s sounds of Canterbury prog rock and west coast psych.

I write a lot about things that I tag “psych” and “prog” and I should probably do a little less, but there’s such a wide array of interesting stuff that fits inside one or both of those tags that it’s hard to stop.

Here we get a great combo of the old and the new. The harmonies are lush, the instruments are multi-tracked to perfection (the record started from pandemic-era remote collaboration, so that’s likely part of it).

Don’t let the laid back sound fool you though: there is some clever and furious playing throughout. The group move together well and cover a wide array of territory, keeping it interesting throughout.

Tracks I Liked

Walking Shoes - a pleasant blast of old school pop

Valerian Tea - the title track is the clearest statement of what they do, and a fun tune.

Sensation Seeker - picture if the Beatles put a church hymn somewhere on side 3 of the white album…