I'm expecting arguments with landing this under prog rock. It's clearly a form of art rock, though. It has a lot of psychedelia and dream pop built into it. Add in some 80s music and more and you will be on the right track. Whatever you call this, though, its unique and compelling. I like it a lot.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Got A Need
There is a driving energy and a sound that has a lot of 80s music built into this. It's a killer cut that just works so well.
Julian
Weird, echoey, spoken sound bites open this. The music comes in from there with a real psychedelic space rock meets art type of sound. This moves forward in that kind of light with a very effective arrangement. Trippy vocals come in over the top of that.
Eating A Milky Way Tonight The acoustic guitar elements that start this make me think of early Genesis. The cut works out from there with some 80s music added to the mix. This is very much a modern art rock kind of thing. It's a bit odd, but works well.
The Bay A bit noisy, trippy and so cool, this has a lot of psychedelia along with some alternative rock based prog. It's definitely trippy and dreamy.
Hard To Be Easy I really dig the psychedelia meets space rock vibe of this killer cut. It's a bit on the noisy side, but also very cool.
Alex Van Halen Wow, this is so interesting. It's high energy and very classic sounding. It feels like something from the early 70s. Imagine a dream pop sound merging with Jimi Hendrix and you might be in the right vicinity. Whatever you call it, though, it's cool.
Funny Feeling There is a real 60s pop thing here. Yet, it still has some echoey, trippy dream pop at play. This is another bit of variety and another classy tune. There's an explosion of noisy sound mid-track, but it gives way to a slightly more powered up version of the earlier sounds to move forward.
Things In The City Trippy dream pop merges with 80s sounds on this cut. It's not one of the highlights, but that's more about the strength of the others than any weakness here.
Medical Mind This one definitely focuses a lot more on that 80s sound. That said, there are elements here that make think of Led Zeppelin and other parts are more psychedelic. This is really quite a stunning piece. It is definitely the most unusual thing here. It might be the strongest, too.
