The kaleidoscopic renaissance of psychedelia that has occurred over the past couple of years has brought with it many astounding acts; from the hum of Tame Impala to the apparitional Warpaint. Since its 1960s conception, psych has hung draped on the shoulders of rock and dance, with this most recent return just the next in line to follow the likes of the Manchester ‘baggy’ scene and acid house. However, as more bands take note, there is danger of over congestion. So, is Gentlemen’s Night Reels LP also destined to take center stage, or dangle on the hems of eminence?

The East London-based quartet, who hail from England, Italy and Australia respectively, formed in 2013; the same year they released the Nite Reels I EP, the first half of this, their debut full length effort. Gentlemen’s ilk of tie-dyed rock n’ roll leans toward the noir within the prologue and epilogue of their Night Reels duo, but is it anything we haven’t heard enough times already? With Temples, Tame Impala, Pond and Goat all releasing albums in the last 12 months, and arguably not really that much to separate each sonically, the top spots in the so-called-revival are hotly contested.

Beginning the first innings, “Late Nacht” rolls in on a distorted haze of cosmic thunder; tribalistic, rich and encompassing , it offers one of the album’s starker highlights. Clearly taking influence from the likes of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the track takes a shadowed slant to the psychedelic genre.

“Sailor (Of The Cosmic Ark)” follows with the same noir psych hue, but with vivid and saturated pop tinges – thanks to the synth pops woven into the rhythmic pulse, and “Children of The Setting Sun” yet again offers a pop-led complexion to the mix of mist laden tripped-out psychedelic hymns.

As we edge into the second half, “Gentle Duke” holds hints of prog-rock à la “The Court of The Crimson King” and the overarching grandeur of its noir-pop.”Midnight Movie” offers the slowest and most sombre of the tracks, leaving “Underground” to close an LP that is at times pretty special, and at others just a little too obvious.

That’s the point – it is hard to do anything creatively different amongst psych by adhering to the already tried and tested formula that many others are already subscribed to. Had this album come a couple of years earlier I have no doubt it may have raised a few more eyebrows, but with the scene already overcrowded on a global scale, it leaves large amounts of outfits scrambling for the light. Gentlemen, although certainly notable, are still in the peripheral.