THIRTEEN TOLLS AT NOON

I've lived through the 60's and have many fond "memories of old days", as GENTLE GIANT used to sing. But FLOATING STATE ain't no GIANT. And don't expect to relive the good ol' hippy days or find yourself in a 'floating state' while listening to this cd.

Whatever possesses a group of good musicians to make such a whimpy album is beyond me. Granted, the musicianship is ok but why bother play such insipid material? The music is aimless, made up of themes that just don't connect; the concept is comical and the vocals laughable (and not just because they are so heavily accented). I mean, does the vocalist do it on purpose to sound like a ninny or does he seriously think hippies used to sound like this? Poor lamb... (I wish I were joking but I'm not). The best cut is perhaps the first, a short vibraphone intro that puts the listener in a pastoral kind of mood. The rest has no rhyme nor reason except for a couple of moments of quiet flute and acoustic guitar. By the way, if you hear some snoring during the last track, it's not you: there's actually the sound of someone snoring in the background while Mr. Whimpy's lament is slowly winding down.

I reserve my 0-star ranking for albums that are truly annoying. This guys are just boring, so I'll grant them one. Oh, where's the fly swatter when you need one...