TIME TO GET UP

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This is a special offer coming from the charming space rock corner. The band had a return to active duty following a hiatus that lasted nearly 5 years. Peter Fuhry and his mates recorded this stuff around 2003/2004, however not officially released until May this year. Due to TRAIL Records the songs are now reworked with improved sound quality - a delightful experience for sure. One could only complain why it took so many years ... but never mind - 'Time to get up' here.

The songs are basically trippy floating jams where Fuhry's sweet vocals are a significant aspect, when even adding some pop appeal to the sound here and there in my opinion. Stenzo's quirky and spacey synthesizer additions are striking in the same way at least - possibly the album's greatest attraction as a matter of fact. Backing the cosmic flow all the way through bass and drums (Anthony Koutsos and David Jayne) appear relaxed and restrained.

It's quite hard to determine a typical highlight here. For some time I thought of Trying to find you which is notably hypnotic and provided with slight drones, also keeping a bunch of twittering synths and Fuhry's varied guitar work all over. Very melodic too on the contrary, yes - something to sing along really. Starbong holds a lively guitar, flute and synth interaction. The title track should also be named, at first rather unconspicious it all evolves to something haunting and dramatical step by step.

Expressing a happy mood Hawaiian Lady swings in a special manner. And the vocals nearly reach for falsetto heights. Another extraordinary track with time for a wonderful spacey excursion inbetween. One or two original, more electronically coloured songs are ignored for this collector's edition surprisingly, but it doesn't matter. BEYOND-O-MATIC provide an absolutely friendly peaceful atmosphere on this album. 'Time to get up' is a great collection of mellow space rock music suitable for some laid-back moments.

The US outfit BEYOND-O-MATIC was a San Francisco-based musical project with Peter Fuhry (vocals, guitar) and Stenzo (keyboards) as the main driving forces, with various friends and acquaintances coming and going in the handful of years the band was active. Initially disbanded in 1999, they briefly reformed to produce one last effort in 2002. After the recording sessions and studio work was finished in 2003 this creation never saw an official release, but eventually was made available as a free download from the band's website in 2004. Five years later the specialist label Trail Records decided to remaster and issue this effort, and in the late spring of 2010 "Time to Get Up" was finally given its official CD release.

Splendidly remastered by George Dugan, "Time to Get Up" is a high quality testimony to the talents of this gang of psychedelic warriors from San Francisco. And one well worth checking out by space cadets with a taste for material of a refined nature, with an emphasis on the gentler aspects found in this part of the psychedelic progressive universe.