SYNESTHESIA

Sky Picnic is a project that aims to takes its listener back to the late 60's, when times were good and concerts were filled with peace, love, and a range of hallucinogens. Often, this retrospective approach to music is not one that does much for me, but Sky Picnic are able to capture the essence of classic psychedelia so well that 'Synesthesia' becomes more than worth a listen for me. Over the course of half an hour, collaborators Chris Sherman and Leah Cinnamon come together to create a dreamy, vintage collection of pieces. It's not without some rough patches, but Sky Picnic form a strong impression with me.

1967 was arguably the strongest year that psychedelia has ever seen, and Sky Picnic's sound explores many defining traits of the summer of love. 'Synesthesia' opens with the lull of sitars, an instrument that many bands from that era were not afraid to experiment with. Instantly, Sky Picnic's approach and objective is made clear. The clean vocals of Leah Cinnamon are reminiscent of Syd Barrett (of early Pink Floyd), and as someone could have guessed, many of these lyrics deal with whimsical, often drug-related themes. The music combines some of the more forward thinking psychedelic sounds with the baroque pop sensibilities of a band like The Beatles. Sky Picnic's sound is nothing new for 2008, but there is a very nostalgic feeling here that excuses the perceived lack of originality.

Although many of the songs are driven by typical song progressions and Leah's vocal mid- register, there are times when the partnership takes their music down a more spaced-out route. This leads to very atmospheric instrumental passages that could, in modern terms, be compared with post-rock. 'Moons Of Jupiter' is a highlight in this regard, beginning rather slowly, but building up into something celestial and epic. Performance-wise, Sky Picnic is an incredibly authentic 60's psychedelic tribute. Their dedication to nailing the vintage style is their greatest strength, and I think if they had tried to put a more modern edge on these tracks, it would have felt watered down. In regards to execution, the only issue is Leah Cinnamon's voice, which is certainly well-fitting of the music, but she will occasionally fall flat on a note or two. Otherwise, her voice works brilliantly for the style of music that Sky Picnic is playing here.

Although the golden years of psychedelia have long since past, it's good to know that there are still acts out there that are trying to preserve the sound and style. I will gladly be checking out more of Sky Picnic's work in the future.

These compositions show actually the first steps of Sky Picnic, when back in 2007 Leah Cinnamon and Chris Sherman created this project with a clear tendency to the psychedelic side of progressive rock. So in 2008 they self-released "Synesthesia", in which we can find five compositions, four of them with a regular length of 3-7 minutes, while the last one is a complex and challenging composition of 13 minutes.

What you will find here, is music that will take you back to the 60s and 70s, but with a clear 21st century sound, so it is a good combination and complement. The first track is entitled "Tea Break", here we can appreciate a sitar that puts the inherent mid-east flavor, accompanied by drums, guitars and a soft and cadence female voice. The four minutes of this track are intense, very attractive, so it is a wonderful introduction to Sky Picnic's music.

The reminiscence of Pink Floyd in the Barrett years will be evident in "Half the Queens Face", the voice is pretty similar as well as the strings and drums, all producing a psychedelic sound that at the same time produces lots of colors and figures. The last fifteen seconds are totally different, with acoustic guitar and voice making a soft ending. "Moons of Jupiter" is a wonderful trippy track in which one can close the eyes and feel transported to another realm. I love how it slowly begins, with guitars, bass and drums, and later how the same instruments with the addition of a mellotron increase the intensity and progress little by little until reaching the highest point. After four minutes the music slows down, giving us a break, and then it follows like this until it finishes. Great!

"The Wise Man Lost His Head" is in my opinion the catchiest song of the album. The Floyd reminiscence is present once again, but here the rhythm and chorus make the song friendlier and easier to dig. The drums work is great here, as well as the powerful bass notes, and the mellotron that appears later. The album finishes with "Sequence IV" is as I previously mentioned, the most complex and challenging of the tracks, which shows Sky Picnic's true talent, because this is a wonderful song for a debut EP.

Here we can find different inner passages, moments of calm and others of vertigo. As usual, the psychedelic sound and the memories of some 60s and 70s acts are present, but what I love of this band is that they have actually created their own sound. Now that I've listened to their EP's and full-length album, I can say they have a particular and yummy style. Both, the instrumental and the vocal moments are fabulous here; the bass notes addictive, the guitar riffs in the most accurate moment, and the vocals very good. After six minutes there is a moment in which the sound of Pink Floyd's "One of These Days" came immediately to my head, I don't know if this part is a tribute to them, but it is a cool episode of this last song.

What a great debut EP from this guys, a clear sound and cool compositions, now my next goal is their full-length album. Now, I will grade this one with four stars.

Enjoy it!