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** We will happily publish more than one review of each album.....don’t let that stop you **

Babylonian Tiles - Teknicolour Aftermath

2000

Pangea OM 2021

Track List:

Boulevard (version 2000), Electrified eyes, Each dying breath, Your universe is creeping, Rain people, Season of The Witch, Teknicolour Aftermath, Reasons for grey (version 2000), House of cards, Far far away (version 2000), Crystal Gavel (version 2000).

Review:

This is the third full album release from Babylonian Tiles, who hail from Long Beach California, and are one of the best and most original contemporary psych bands of recent years.
Often described as Acid-Goth, even by the band themselves, Babylonian Tiles do have a very Dark edge to their sound and have a significant fan base on the Gothic/Darkwave scene. That said, their highly original sound is very much multi-faceted, featuring equal parts of haunting keyboards, electric guitar and eastern vocals delivered with interesting and unconventional vocal patterns.
Not all the songs here are new, but Pangea felt that re-working some of their earlier material would benefit the wider audiences they are now reaching. If you are new to the band, like we are (having only previously heard a poor quality recording of a live session on Tales From The Marshmallow Dimention) then this album is a good place to start. There are influences as diverse as Siouxie & The Banshees and The Doors evident in some of the songs, aside from that Babylonian Tiles are a very original band, which is no mean feat considering what has come before them. A reworked version of Boulevard opens the album with flowing vocals building on strong guitar and keyboards. Spooky keyboards and eastern flavoured vocals begin Electrified Eyes which ends up in a drawn out Space-Rock style guitar and keyboard jam. The philosophical Each Dying Breath is crashing drums and guitars, topped with swirling keyboards and Bryna Golden's distinctive vocal style. The pace drops back a little for Your Universe Is Creeping featuring some wonderfully retro sounding keyboard breaks which is something this band are very good at, creating an authentic feel but without sounding too retro and at the same time writing some excellent, highly original material that sounds like no other band.
Rain People (my personal favourite) starts with some haunting backwards vocals before opening up into a beautiful lilting psych folk tune, laced with spiralling keyboards.
Next up is an interesting cover of Donovan's Season Of The Witch, this is given the Tiles own unique treatment of an already fine song. The title track of the album Teknicolour Aftermath begins eerily with atmospheric sound effects before being led into a throbbing eastern flavoured jam. Reasons For Grey, features some powerful stabs of lead guitar and demented vocals and is probably an excellent live track.
House Of Cards is a dark and brooding tale. Another favourite track is the spectral Far Far Away, a reworking of an old song, featuring some wonderful chilling keyboards and driving guitar which dives and climbs, building up to a climax before running into the powerful Crystal Gavel, which spirals into a hypnotic eastern flavoured jam, peaking in a frantic guitar & keyboard laden feast, closing gracefully with the dying embers of guitar feedback.

Judging by this album I expect that Babylonian Tiles are a stunning experience live, which being nearly 6000 miles away is something I can only dream about....!!!

Hey Bryna, when are you guys coming over here?

Reviewed by pOoTer

Baby Woodrose - Blows Your Mind!

2001

Pan Records

Track List:

No Way Out, Baby Blows Your Mind, What A Burn!, Caught In A Whirl, Pandora, Spinning Wheels Of Fire, Living A Dream, Flamenca, Maya, D’ya Get What Ya Give?, Kara Lynn, Right To Get High, Mind And Soul, Nobody Spoil My Fun.

Review:

I asked Lorenzo of Baby Woodrose for some information about the making of this album. He informed me this was done by ingesting a packet of Hawaiian Woodrose seeds which then inspired him to write 15 million songs in 15 seconds. 14 of them presumably made their way onto this album. Also presumably, this experience caused Baby, who can be viewed in all her naked glory on the Baby Woodrose site(www.babywoodrose.com), to come into being.

The idea of the album being about a fantasy woman who comes to life on the band's website and in the cover art for the album is ingenious and draws the listener into the music. She is the personification of the Woodrose experience, very seductive and wild. The songs mostly seem to be addressed to her or about her, except for Kara Lynn (maybe Lorenzo's old girlfriend that he is ditching to make way for Baby), and a few more general themes about getting high, e.g. 'Spinning Wheels Of Fire'.

The music is well and truly rooted in garage psych, with influences such as Lollipop Shoppe, 13th Floor Elevators, The Seeds, Music Machine and Beau Brummels cited in the press release. Apart from the 'Do you feel it, feel it, feel it' line, lifted directly from the Elevators 'Don't Fall Down,' or The Spades 'We Sell Soul' if you like to be pedantic, which I do ;-), I don't hear any specific similarities. Oh, and one of the songs is entitled 'No Way Out,' though the similarity to the Chocolate Watchband song of the same name ends there. There's plenty of fuzzy guitar pounding out simple riffs, tambourines, reverb on guitar leads and vocals and odd soundbytes at the beginnings and ends of songs, enough to give it an authentic early psych sound. And the song structures and boy/girl romantic lyrics are all totally in harmony with the era to give a classic retro punk aura to the album.
Garage fans will want to add this to their collection for a refreshing breeze from the mid-sixties.

My only minor beef is this: not all that many of the original bands even made it to the album stakes having to be content with a couple of singles.
The albums that were released generally lasted little over half-an-hour. 'Blows Your Mind' goes on a little too long for a comfortable listen, and the song format is pretty much the same on all tracks.
Or maybe I'm taking it all too seriously - after all it's just a fantasy.

Reviewed by Doctor Dark - February 2002

The Bach’s - Out Of The Bach’s

1968

Del Val

Track List:

You’re Mine, Pleasure Of Your Company, Free Fall, I See Her, My Independence Day, Minister To A Mind Diseased, Tables Of Grass Fields, Show Me That You Want To Go Home, Sitting, Nevermore, Answer To Yesterday, I’m A Little Boy

Review:

A classic garage burner this one. However, to me this album sounds more like it was recorded in ’65 or 66 then the suggested release date of 1968. “Out of the Bach’s” has a very dated and primitive sound. To many this very aspect is much of the records appeal, but in my opinion it lacks the power and the drive to really knock me out. There are certainly some monster fuzz riffs throughout the album, and without doubt this is best exhibited on the records greatest and beefiest track, “Minister to a Mind Diseased”. The album is just about worth it for this song alone.
It is a splendidly thick slice of 60’s psycho-punk served up in the garage by a group of spotty teenagers. Shame the rest of the album doesn’t deliver to this standard. To me the album sounds like white suburban boys trying to play Chuck Berry at break neck speeds. Not quite up to the same production values as MC5’s “Back In The USA” LP, but at the same time it doesn’t quite have the same snarl and punkish attitude that say “Distortions” by The Litter or “From Zero Down” by The Nomads has. To many though, “Out of the Bach’s” is the quintessential 60’s garage punk album.
For garage purists this record is an absolute must.

Rating 2 Sugar Cubes

Reviewed by BlueMagoo - November 2002

Balloon Farm - A Question Of Temperature 7”

1968

Laurie 3405

Track List:

A Question Of Temperature, Hurtin’ For Your Love.