The sound of crickets, vibrating sex toys, the voices of Donald Sutherland and Sean Penn, and a bundle of exotic instruments, come together bewitchingly on the self-titled debut release from Swedish neo-psych band Octopus Ride. Since forming in 1999, Octopus Ride has passed through a number of reincarnations. In 2002, the band invented “psychedelic post-punk”, developing a unique sound that has been likened to “Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd rendering Joy Division”. Six years later, members of VED were brought in to quite the opposite effect, producing quietly hypnotic “mantra rock” songs of up to 30 minutes in length from a stage level below the audience. This album, eleven years in the making, is anchored by a running thread of variations on an ambient theme. Interspersed between these variations are tracks from various stages of the band’s history, reworked and remixed into a curious whole, hinting at influences ranging from Brian Eno and Michael Nyman to shoegaze and krautrock. Octopus Ride was released by rev/vega records (home to FLOWERS MUST DIE). Cover art by Danilo Stankovic.