It’s Karma It’s Cool “Homesick for our Future Destinations”
James Styring and his Lincoln, UK band take on a more subdued approach with their latest album. The low-key instrumental “Homesick” leads to “All Branches Break In Time,” a slow-building song with a jangling atmosphere and guitar dramatics at its peak. Unlike past work, the atmosphere is key as opposed to melody, and a song like “Wild Fire Flames,” is a good example, with its complex rhythm. The spacey “Absent Transient” is another highlight with echoing textures and riffs.
Overall it incorporates more psych-pop and prog influences than past works. That’s not to say the singles don’t stand out. “She Slept With The Radio On” is fantastic, and the big guitar hooks of “Coffee Cup Circles” are true highlights. A good combination of the melodic and atmospheric is “Guest on a TV Talk Show,” and most of the songs go past the four-minute mark, so you will need a few spins to appreciate this. A very good album that deserves to be heard.
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The Laissez Fairs “Curiosity Killed The Laissez Fairs”
God bless John Fallon and his band of electric acid dandies! The retro-fuzzed guitars and Farfisa organs recall the golden age of late 60s psych-pop mixed with the Paisley Underground of the mid-80s across 11 tracks. The musical structure of each song is densely composed, sometimes crowding out the vocals — but the spirit and skill of these musicians cannot be denied. Listening to the opener “Image” and Joe Lawless guitar jangle is all you need to get a perfect mashup of The Byrds, Stones, and The Who.
“Sunshine Tuff” is a garage-laden mod rocker loaded with the kitchen sink, and “Tell You What It Means” is very much like The Small Faces. “Somewhere Man” and “Two Sides of The Same Coin” are also highlighted with bits of The Move and The Rain Parade in their DNA. Almost every song hits its mark, with the album’s end track “Upside Downer” a stoner meditation. Turn off the lights and stare at some blacklight posters while listening to this. Highly Recommended.
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