Biita Houdei's debut weaves an alluring psych-folk spell

The concept of patchwork makes perfect sense when taking in Houdei’s debut, released by Todmorden’s reliably sharp-eared Basin Rock label (home also to Juni Habel and Jim Ghedi, among others). From languid dreaminess and earthy handclap-propelled hoedowns to turbulent unease and miniature excursions into something approaching folk-dub, This Bed Was Made for Me covers considerable ground in terms of tone, mood, and points of reference, but it all ultimately adds up to seamlessly unified whole that feels more meatily substantial than its impressive individual parts. If we consider ‘psychedelic’ to mean the subtle fraying of the edges of reality or conceptualise it as an additive capable of evoking a refreshing sense of the unknown and unpredictable to reassuringly familiar settings, then the dreamily sprawling, subtly otherworldly, timelessly sepia-tinged sound of This Bed Was Made for Me surely qualifies as psych-folk in the literal sense of the term. Inspired by the lush surroundings of LA’s Topanga Canyon where many of these songs were written, the opening “The Ground Here” (featuring Big Thief’s Buck Meek) sounds impossibly majestic for deriving from a few simple acoustic instrum...