Discovering Psychedelic Porn Crumpets was a happy accident, one of the good things that came out of my VNYL subscription years ago. I thought there was something fun about 2019’s And Now For The Whatchamacallit, the Australian band’s sophomore collection of psych, prog, and gnarly garage rock. There were similarities to what I was digging and discovering in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and this year with the May release of Carpe Diem, Moonman (not to mention the October’s Pogo Rodeo) the group have risen up with the kind of driving rock I’ve come to love, and miss from the ’70s southern boogie KG&LW have been putting out lately.

This isn’t supposed to be a lament for King Gizzard, though. It’s an appreciation for what Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are currently bringing to the table. And that is a very fun, bouncy rock attack that can turn on a dime to do something acoustic and swirling like mid-album diversion “Scapegoat,” currently playing as I write this. It’s a sharp departure from rockers like the opening “Another Reincarnation” and the twisted QOTSA-inspired “March On for Pax Romana.” They’re just adept at modern math rock; check out the fun riffing on “Qwik Maff” and the woozy dream of “As the Hummingbird Hovers” with its reverse guitar licks.

Vocalist/main songwriter Jack McEwan is able to twist his voice into a myriad of different timbres and styles, and the rest of the band follows suit. Guitarist Luke Parish in particular morphs his guitar’s tone to fit any idea McEwan and the band come up with, from the fuzzed attack of “Incubator (V2000)” to the tremolo/vibrato laden accents of “Out the Universe Pours” – that one in particular has some stunning solos, deep neck pickup open-string tapping and killer licks.

It’s a fun record with just enough variety to keep you bouncing with interest as to what they’ll hit on next. Much as I love my Australian garage brothers the Gizz, channeling Lynyrd Skynyrd the last two years has been exhausting, and I prefer the way Psychedelic Porn Crumpets keep it lively, and – when needed – heavy.