ASTRAL MAGIC – STRANGE SENSATION (2024)

Santtu is back again with his distinctive blend of psychedelic space rock. This time he is joined by Jaire Pätäri on drums (and also Perttu Lindberg on ‘You Can’t Hear Me’), and Paul Roland on acoustic guitar, playing everything else himself (that is bass, guitar and keyboards). After a catchy psychedelic opener, the organ led Hammer Horror vibe of ‘Haunted Mansion’ has some creepy synth. As the title suggests, ‘Don’t Lead Me On’ is a song about deception with layers of synths burbling away, languorous guitar lines, retro organ sounds and rolling drums. ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ is an upbeat rocker that could have been a psychedelic ‘nugget’ back in the day. “Strange Sensation” can be found on BANDCAMP and purchased as a download or 100-limited CD.