The Politics of Ecstasy

This album might be peak early 90s psychedelic rave. Astralasia are the electronic offshoot of long-time festival favourites The Magic Mushrooom Band (of course!) led by a man called Swordfish (of course!) and they deal in 15 minute ambient epics and surging proto-trance dancefloor bangers with endless guitar solos (of course!!). Everything here is over-egged, over-layered, with the potential to tip over into the most ludicrous foolishness at any second, yet incredibly they rein it in at that crucial moment ever time, and for all the cosmic scope keep everything single-mindedly focused on the pursuit of pleasure.