More from the SF area garage rockers. They keep up with their more-than-one-album-a-year pace with this April release... More heavy ravers, more long krautrock-inspired heavy jams. This album is similar to their past, but tries to be "louder, grungier, synth-meltier."

It's terrific. Rich and likeable on every track. Some songs really stay with you, and there are no clunkers. (Check out the cover art-- creepy stuff.... eyeballs and teeth in a bunch of strawberries.) No FCCs detected.

1 (4:28) ******* A raver. Ramp-up to a full-out jump... call and response: raspy vox and "oohs". They've been doing this at live sets-- just pure energy... Cuts back and forth to a whiplash guitar solo, and some organ pounding. The bridge strikes me as slightly British Invasiony, with a talk-sung digression... "no one wants a heartache all the time..." Sudden ending.
2 (3:32) ******* Slow and sweet -Big fat fuzzy guitar notes to start, and then high, etheral, echoey vox floating above a glissandoing atmosphere of guitar strings... and then back to the catchy big fat notes. Awesome duet with guitar+bass. Finally ends with crackly fading-out+distortion, like a bad connection.
3 (2:22) *** Breakneck, high and light. Kind of hurried and manic, like a '60s spy chase scene, which breaks into a gloopy soup of guitar and drums and repeats like a nightmare, until a surprise ending, just a guitar chord and OUT
4 (4:26) **** Refreshing wash of guitars to start, into light plucking and drumming. Cloudy and hazy, a melody emerges... more high+etheral vox. Eventually elicits a yelp, and everything speeds up, into manic guitar solos and more, but then chills out, and it becomes hazy and calm, eventually falling to sleep.
5 (5:45) **** Heavy drum intro, speeds up into RAVER - raspy voice, singalong chorus. Insistent speed, doesn't let up, until 2 minutes in, becomes SLOW introspective hazy chant... builds into soaring guitar solo. Warm, peaceful fadeout.
6 (3:16) **** Fairly fast intro, almost bongolike drums, sharp guitar notes...Brigid vocals on this one. There are yelps, then fast chanting with yelps, continues driving... more and more yelps... sudden close.
7 (4:12) ***** Spacey intro, heavy Krauty drums and bass beat... mumbled slow chant-singing, then more spacey interludes... there's some beeping that comes and goes. The song stays low and heavy and loud. Ends with fluttering space noise...
8 (2:44) **** Midtempo, heavy guitar beats, high etheral chant-singing, sounds dirgey, almost like a search party. Constant, insistent, but short: sudden end.
9 (4:10) ****** Chirpy spacey sound, then yelled: "roll it!". Full-speed raver, all raspy vox. "Ah ah ah ah ah" chorus, great hook. Goes on, eventually encounters a flute-like solo, continuing over drums and bass looping on and on, heavily... It's a long flute solo (but a good one, a rarity for flute solos). Sudden out.
10 (4:50) ****** Dour cello opening, unusual. Casual walking beat. Talked vocals... with backing "ahs" from Brigid. A weird nostalgic sweetness to this song, appealing solos. "I get sick from my work EVERY. DAY." Some sorts of metaphors for the maze, for the minotaur. "Men get sick from their work EACH. AND. EVERY. DAY." The only really different song on the album, and a winner in its own way. Long cello fade-out.

-Hervey Okkles