Also hailing from Melbourne, The Sand Pebbles are a less abrasive proposition than The Bird Blobs. Their second album sprinkles a set of propulsive, expansive indie rock songs with a heavy drizzle of retro psychedelic sounds, from the subtle stereo panning on Speed And Intensity to the patchouli oil stench of Ripple. A cover of All My Life (I Love You) by Moby Grape’s Skip Spence establishes the band’s academic credentials, and the twelve minute Black Sun Ensemble, presumably named after the mysterious Tucson acid-rock band of the same name, is one of those unforgettable, hypnotic, slow-burning, snake-charming epics that comes along once in a generation.

- Stewart Lee

Those people wetting themselves over BRMC because it reminds them of My Bloody Valentine and Jesus And Mary Chain tend to forget that none of those bands are exactly overburdened with songs. Melbourne’s The Sand Pebbles have got the Velvet Underground drone thing happening, they’ve got the Beach Boys tune thing happening, they’ve got the shoegazer dream state thing happening. But by jingo, by crikey, they’ve got songs too. Songs that don’t sound the same track by track either. You can have a beach party to Hanging Out, creep yourself out with Ghost Girl and get on the nod to Black Sun Ensemble. This is a very impressive return.

- Bernard Zuel

You didn’t need to be at this self described “flower punk” band’s recent live “happening” in Fitzroy to “get” this album, because it takes you on a different trip with every listen. As with the critically acclaimed predecessor, Eastern Terrace, Ghost Transmissions offers more tight, catchy pop, sprawling Velvet Underground-inspired jams and good time Canned Heat boogie. The psychedelic vibe is enhanced by tambourine, coconuts, handclaps, marimba and groove box, as well as trippy production techniques such as panning and echo effects.
The Pebbles aren’t a career band; they have other jobs and rarely tour. But that may change, because, unlike on Eastern Terrace, there’s only one song longer than five minutes here - the near 12-minute brain massage epic ‘Black Sun Ensemble’, which shows suspenseful restraint and flows like lava. Hits abound, such as the slow-burner ‘Big Left’, in which you can almost feel the serotonin rise as Andrew Tanner says over shimmering guitars, ‘as we turn our faces to the sun’, while instrumental ‘Sioux City Falls’ has the airy euphoria of the Flaming Lips. Best heard on a sunny winter’s stroll with good headphones.

- Patrick Donovan