Mandrake Handshake – Monolith (Nice Swan 
Records)
Release Date: Out Now
Superbly monikered Oxford
collective Mandrake Handshake bring their new single ‘Monolith’ to the sacrificial
alter of pop and I suspect we will be blessed with a bountiful crop this year. The
slow and stretching start is like the first beams of sunlight dispelling the
darkness from a room full of passed-out party goers from the night before.
Shimmering guitar chords, a laid-back groove and sitar notes all add to the
Haight Ashbury vibe before the dreamy, hypnotic vocals join in just to complete
the vibe. This seven-minute odyssey of a single meanders through a searing
guitar solo, gloriously layered vocal harmonies and a crescendo that is the musical
equivalent of a mass of writhing, naked bodies lost in the intensity of a lustful
orgy. But with tambourines and a saxophone outro.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/mandrakehandshakeband