The French psychedelic band Gloria hit upon an appealing genre twist on their debut album, Gloria In Excelsis Stereo, by having a trio of female vocalists fronting the bubbly neo-psych sounds. It worked exceedingly well thanks to the groovy hooks, pitch-perfect arrangements, and the interplay of the vocals. Their second album picks up right where their debut and the follow-up EP Oîdophon Echorama left off. 2021's
Sabbat Matters is another wonderful slice of modern psych-pop filled with fuzz guitars, stately organs, a limber rhythm section, and vocals that can go from sunny to haunting with the flip of a switch. That latter point is meaningful since a large chunk of the album is devoted to the kind of psychedelia that sounds like it was lifted from a late-'60s film about sexy vampires or mod monsters. Songs like "Holy Water" and the spooky title track make the most out of minor chords, ominous keyboards, and the bewitching harmonies, while "Dance with Death" scales back the sounds to create a comfortingly witchy quilt of sound for the vocals to gently sing over. These tracks are balanced by a few that verge on novelty territory but are snatched back at the last second by the inventive arrangements and the verve with which the band sing and play. "Space Rocket" may be a goofy ode to space travel lyrically, but the bellowing
Entwistle-style French horn and the timely injections of molten guitars make it sound almost important. "Miss Tambourine" is a lyrical trifle as well that's rescued by the vocals and the mix of psychedelic and hard rock guitar solos layered over each other. The rest of the album is top-notch modern psych that ranges from sleek and slinky ("Night Biting") to lilting and sweet ("Back in Town"), delivering on each element with style to spare. There are an almost overwhelming number of bands traveling the psychedelic byways in the early 2020s. Gloria has the ideas and skills to rise near the top, and
Sabbat Matters is more concrete proof of that happy fact. ~ Tim Sendra