PARADISE NOW

Take a good portion of 60s psychedelia spiced with a touch of krautrock. This can give an idea of what Group 1850's music is, but let me add that while the musicianship of psychs and krauts was not always good, this band knows how to play.

I have listened to this band for the first time a lot of years ago (maybe 30). I spent a night in a house in the country, jamming on guitar, bass and drums and listening to music of this kind. You can imagine the rest.

The title track is a fusion of Californian psych with a bolero-like tempo but with vocals more in line with krautrock. Not so "weird" like CAN or so "doped" like AMON DUUL.

"Friday I'm Free" is more British. The vocals have a lot of reverb so it's just another instrument. The tempo is fast and while the guitar sounds like Barrett, bass and drums anticipate the times to come with a rhythm that has brought to my mind bands like OZRIC TENTACLES, QUANTUM FANTAY or 35007.

"Hunger" has the pauses typical of MOODY BLUES with kraut vocals and a melody very '60 close to the psychedelic period of BEATLES but also to SYD BARRETT with a bit of blues, too. One of the most acid tracks of an acid album.

"Cycle" is a short interlude with a Canterbury flavor and the first of three very short songs. The second is "Lonelyness" that's more floydian. Both the guitar and the voice sound similar to BARRETT and also the keyboard plays a melody with the middle-eastern scales used by Wright until Ummagumma. The third, "Martin En Peter" is very reminding of Floyd's PARTY SEQUENCE from More. Percussion keyboard and flute.

"!?" starts with clean rhythmic guitar followed by a keyboard melody. The guitar plays open major chords while the melody goes on minor tones with an acid sound. The contrast creates a sort of middle-eastern mood, but fundamentally it's a psych-blues track. I think to ARZACHEL as reference. It's the kind of track good for a jamming night.

The longest track closes the album. It's an acid blues again very close to the PINK FLOYD of MORE. I think to "More Blues". Here we can clearly distinguish the two guitars, the second played by Dave Duba, the new fifth band's member. I don't know if he's also one of the two singers, but this second singer has a voice quite similar to JIMI HENDRIX and when the rhythm increases the influence of that great performer appears clearly. It's a long...well, not very long, jam session. Also because a good portion of it is just a drum solo. A good solo which demonstrates the drummer's skill before coming back to the initial blues.

I'm used to relisten to an album while I write a review and honestly this album has brought my mind to 30 years before. A short and nice trip in the space-time thanks to an album which deserves to be known by the psych music addicts and shows a skill that was not very common in that time for that genre.

The average rating is not going to change. I see that all have rated this with 4 stars and this is also my opinion.