SKY PICNIC

"White Plane" has a laid-back sound at first, but later it progresses and the intensity increases a little bit. The guitar work during the whole track is pretty good, and I really like the vocals and the effects they use. The chorus is catchy, by the way. "Marker 25, 27" starts delicate with a warm and charming touch, and later just before reaching the first minute it changes, a great mellotron is implemented along with a distorted bass sound, which produce a strong and dark sound. Then the song repeats its structure one more time, and later creates new passages; but this particular part with mellotron is what makes this track greater. This is one of their finest compositions, in my opinion.

A couple of short tracks come later with "Seven", "Abbie's Bike Ride" and "Going Mad in Cambridge" making together ten minutes. The first one is an acoustic guitar based track with some electronic effects and a delicate male voice. Later after two minutes a mellotron enters and produces a new atmosphere, perfectly complemented by the voices. In the second track the music is more dynamic, the rhythm increases and the retro-psych sound is here once again. Worth mentioning that in spite of the reminiscences of those 60-70s inspirational bands, the sound of Sky Picnic is very original, one can easily recognize them. The third song of this bunch has nice bass notes, excellent drums and accurate keyboards that work as background in the right moments. I also like how male and female voices join in some parts.

Next we will have the longest composition entitled "The Universal Mind Decoder" in which they offer eleven minutes of this psychedelic prog, with some moments of jam and some others with a clear structure. The bass notes are great in the whole track, as well as the drums. I like both, the moments with vocals and the pure instrumental ones, a good example of the latter is after three minutes, when it makes a change and a psychedelic trip begins, reminding me a bit of Floyd's Pompeii moments. The jam continues for some minutes and the vocals return in the eighth minute, returning the previous structure. This is a very good song, though not my favorite.

A reprise of "White Plane" comes now with two minutes less but with the same intensity of the distorted bass, mellotron and vocals. "Farther in this Fairy Tale" is the shortest track of the album, and it seems to be an improvisation, a dark atmosphere created here, nothing more. The last track is "Warren", a song with cool drums and vocals, but in my opinion it is only one more track, nothing new or outstanding here.

I really like Sky Picnic's music, this debut album is good and presents a solid example of the kind of music they create. However, for some strange reason I still prefer their Synesthesia EP. Anyway, this is of course worth listening and exploring, and deserves four stars.

Enjoy it!

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!

Coming back now with a drummer added to their ranks, Sky Picnic released this ten minute single's release. Having been impressed by what the partnership of Chris Sherman and Leah Cinnamon churned out on the debut EP 'Synesthesia', I had high hopes for this one. Sadly, the baroque charm that made the first EP so good is absent here, making for a set of music that is much harder to recommend.

Sky Picnic's sound is centered around the vintage sounds of the 1960's, with specific regards to the psychedelic scene of the age. The Picnic boast an incredibly authentic recreation of the sounds from this era; if I didn't know that this band was making music in the new millennium, I would have no problem believing that this was some obscure act from the late '60s. In any case, despite the addition of percussionist Pete Meriwether, Sky Picnic's sound has not changed much since 2008's 'Synesthesia'. 'Lost Is Found' is a two song expansion on what they were originally doing. One thing that is missing from their sound this time however, are memorable melodies, and the sort of Syd Barett-esque charm that I was liking so much with the first batch of Sky Picnic tracks. Both of the songs here are mellow to the point of anaesthesia, and somewhat aimless.

This is one of the few singles I have heard where the b-side is actually more effective than the leading track. 'Lost Is Found' is a completely forgettable track, consisting mostly of psychedelic soundscaping and atmosphere. For what it's worth, it is executed rather well, with guitars pleasantly swelling with effects. The music never seems to go anywhere though, and as a result, 'Lost Is Found' wanders into the background. 'Strange Things Are Afoot' is a little more successful, with Leah Cinnamon's lower pitched vocals weaving in and out of the song. Her voice still has the same somewhat off-key cadence to it, and while it fits the style that Sky Picnic are performing here, her vocal melodies are lackluster here.

'Lost Is Found' is a disappointment, considering what a strong first foot they set off with on 'Synesthesia'. Sky Picnic still bring a warm, vintage sound to the table, but the unsuccessful composition of this EP is not quite compensated by the execution.

Sky Picnic is a new and interesting band from the United States whose music has progressive and psychedelic orientations. Now with the internet facility, one can listen to their music in a digital format, and for free, at least this EP. Though I have not listened to their full-length album yet, I can say that with this EP and a single (which I also downloaded) the band has caught my attention, due to their soft kind of psychedelic music.

This EP is entitled "The Unknown Regions" and consists of only four songs, which make a total time of 20 minutes. It opens with "The Unknown Regions", a song with mellow vocals and a warm and dreamy atmosphere created by keyboards. There are moments where guitars and drums put more intensity to the music, but the softness always returns. The bass lines are cool, and the vocals perfectly work here. Though I am not comparing, I cannot help but mentioning that here I can find some Pink Floyd (early) reminiscences.

"Siren Song" is the shortest track here, again with dreamy atmospheres and even a relaxing tone. Here we can listen to a mellotron, which adds a really warm and charming sound; and that, complemented by great drums, nice guitars and wonderful vocals (I like the vocals a lot, by the way), create an splendid short piece.

"Teach Your Teachers" starts with guitars and a few seconds later the other instruments including the voices join. The musical style is the same as in the previous tracks, so they have implemented their own sound. After three minutes there is an instrumental part with a soft guitar solo, but what I like is that the musicians are all equal, I mean, none of the instruments shows off more than they should. Cool track!

And finally the longest song with seven minutes length, "For Miss Central London". It starts with cool bass lines while a spacey atmosphere is being created by keyboards and the other instruments. After a minute vocals join but without lyrics and then the song begins to progress and add different elements in its background. The lyrics appear one minute later, and complement the trippy music. The structure is repeated until the end of the song.

This is a nice EP which may be attractive for people who like soft psych-rock, spacey and slow, mid-tempo music. It is for free, so download it if you wish. Now I am eager to listen to their full-length album, I am sure I will be pleased. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

And after having downloaded their latest EP, I took advantage of Bandcamp and downloaded this two-track single entitled "Lost is Found", whose length reaches only ten minutes. This one was released in 2010, so I assume these songs show more their roots, though actually their sound is practically the same here and in their "The Unknown Regions" EP.

Here this trio offers first a song entitled "Lost is Found" which is not that dreamy or atmospheric, but closer to the psychedelia. Here I like a lot the drums and of course the vocals, the strings are also very important (always) and they put the melody our mind will remember. The last minute is very cool, intense and instrumental, it is like a jam where the instruments become crazy. And the song finishes like that.

The second and last track is "Strange Things Are Afoot", and here they do sound as in that EP, with dreamy atmospheres, mellow vocals and a laid back sound. Before the second minute that atmosphere vanishes and a new structure begins, with great bass notes accompanied by constant drums and accurate guitars. Then the psychedelia reappears and the song continues as it began; a thing I must highlight, is their use of mellotron, which is creates that wonderful sound we all know.

Two good tracks without a doubt. Here you can have a taste of Sky Picnic's music, so I once again recommend you to download it. But well, according to my "rules" I don't use to rate singles or releases with 20 minutes or less length with more than two stars, and this is not the exception, but don't pay attention to the rating, better listen to the music.

Enjoy it!

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.

Space rock with more than a hint of post rock. A modern space rock band in other words. Leah's vocals is understated. The guitars is pretty heavy at places. But heavy as in a post rock sound. Both songs also has a punk rock feel too. Sky Picnic is perhaps an arty punk space rock band. Maybe.

Both songs trundles along in a nice pace. None of them are really that immediate good though. They require space and time. I also think this EP is not as good as the follow up EP and that they made a pretty good progression to the follow up of this EP. But this is still a good EP worth checking out. Stars wise...... OK, a weak three stars is given.

3 stars

Sky Picnic plays a very accessible form of Psychedelic/Space Rock on this EP. It is a bohemian laid back type of music with a lot of dreamy spacy post rock, shoegaze, kraut and pop/rock influences. They are from New York and that explains the student/college rock sound. The music is dominated by Leah Cinnamon's (female) vocals. Naive and somewhat thin vocals which suits this music like a hand in a good glove. Her vocals is great and sometimes breaks into remarkable great too. She is supported by some half acoustic and electric guitars with bass and drums in the background. All of this is very good.

The music is dreamy and spacy. Very relaxing music. But on the opening track The Unknown Regions, the band goes into a standard rock terrain with a proper chorus-verse-chorus song structure. This song is great and the best on this ep. The rest of the ep is much more experimental and Krautrock like. But always interesting and never boring.

This ep, a free download, is a very good ep and showcases a band well worth keeping an eagle eye on. Kraut, post rock and psychedelic/space rock fans will find this ep very agreeable indeed.

3.5 stars