Pysch-pop, when not done well, can come across as a barrage of conflicting ideas. Songs in that genre are often so layered and nuanced that if just one element is out of place, the entire thing can come crashing down like a house of cards. For every instance where this occurs, however, there are moments that are absolutely brilliant. Luckily, Sam Flax’s [Facebook] new song is very much the latter. Taken from his new album AGE WAVES (Out September 17th via The Sounds of Sweet Nothing, who are handling the vinyl release) The below video ramps the ‘WTF?!’ factor up to 11 (can you figure out just what’s going on? Answers on a postcard please), but when combined with the restless and infectious music, a mix of psychedelia and groovy krautrock, the effect is intoxicating. The song spreads its wings over five-and-a-half minutes, but never once loses sight of its goal: to be an excellent pop song. Flax may try to cover it up with all manner of interesting flourishes and general weirdness, but at its heart, Fire Doesn’t Burn Itself is nakedly accessible – the mark of a great song is that it still makes a great impact when all the bells and whistles are stripped away. In that way, then, here is a great song.