THE BOOT LAGOON

Overall this is a fine song that was released to start a career that never became?

The Boot Lagoon released this EP in 2012. It consists of four songs the first two flowed well, sounding like one piece as do the third and fourth, though not quite as smooth. The music is inoffensive and jazzy with small amounts of vocals so you know this is the Canterbury Scene. I like the first two songs nice saxophone work, the third track is not so great right from the start with meh singing annoying violin and repetitiveness. The third has a harsher guitar tone, returning to the sonic scape of the first two tracks as Sax also comes back.

Largely unremarkable this is still a good debut with solid bite sized Canterbury Scene. Unfortunately, this band has released nothing in the nearly ten years that have passed since the writing of my review today.

The band was formed in 2011 by Peter Edlin (guitar, vocals, percussion), Callum Magill (keyboards, piano, moog, vocals, percussion), Cameron Dawson (bass, vocals, percussion), Seth Deuchar (drums, flute, effects) and so far has hardly released any music at all! Shortly after the band's inception the single "Businessman" was released in 2011 and then in 2012 this four-track released titled THE BOOT LAGOON EP followed however as of 2019 there has been no followup release which is a true pity because if you are the type of retro-progger who craves authenticity then you simply CANNOT go wrong with THE BOOT LAGOON.

Silly moniker aside which is actually probably the point, THE BOOT LAGOON EP delivers a veritable slice of vintage Canterbury prog that easily could pass as some long lost unreleased Caravan sessions as the band perfectly imitates the sound of yestercentury and even adopts the production techniques which leads me to believe this album was completely recorded on analog period piece equipment. While the band clearly hadn't found their own sound on this short but sweet EP, these musicians pay the most spectacular tribute to the Canterbury greats that made the sound so special.

While short in duration, THE BOOT LAGOON EP checks off all the essential Canterbury boxes with gusto. Fuzzed out bass? Check. Jazzy Caravan keyboard melodic drives, oh yeah! Sensual Hatfield & The North atmospheric mood enhancers? You bethca. Trippy 60s fueled psychedelia a la feedback fuzz, hazy guitar riffs and staccato key stabs? Wouldn't be a Canterbury tribute without it. Oh and there are saxophone extras delivered by guest musician Owen Hewson to take the jazzy touches to the stratosphere. Honestly i've never heard a more authentic modern day rendition of the classic Canterbury days even by the original bands themselves who fell off the bandwagon long ago.

This little EP is highly recommended for anyone longing for a completely new product that sounds as if it was bootlegged out of the 70s. Completely authentic in every possible way and while i wouldn't call this an absolute essential slice of Canterbury heaven, i do have to say that this is without a doubt the closest thing to the classic sounds of the 70s that i have ever heard outside of that timeline. These guys have done their homework thoroughly and are the perfect imposters of a completely different generation as they master the instrumental interplay, harmonic complexities and musical playfulness. While there are a few backing vocals strewn about, this is basically an instrumental affair. I would totally love to hear these guys release a full-length album where they rely less on vintage imitation and insert some of their own poetic license in the mix.

Probably should be 3.5 but so good and i want to encourage the band to crank out some more!

The band was formed in 2011 by Peter Edlin (guitar, vocals, percussion), Callum Magill (keyboards, piano, moog, vocals, percussion), Cameron Dawson (bass, vocals, percussion), Seth Deuchar (drums, flute, effects) and so far has hardly released any music at all! Shortly after the band's inception the single "Businessman" was released in 2011 and then in 2012 this four-track released titled "The Boot Lagoon Ep" followed however as of 2019 there has been no followup release which is a true pity because if you are the type of retro-progger who craves authenticity then you simply CANNOT go wrong with THE BOOT LAGOON.

"Businessman" was released a teaser single that paved the way for the following "The Boot Lagoon Ep." This track sounds perfectly authentic as as evidenced by the cover art insinuates that all classic analog vintage instruments and recording techniques were used. "Businessman" fits in with the classic early 70s Caravan sounds and wouldn't sound terribly out of place on albums such as "In The Land Of The Grey And Pink." It has a slight jazzy swing to it with instantly infectious melodic grooves and includes all the fuzzed out bass and guitar affects as well as the psychedelic zeitgeist of the early 70s timeline and all of this is done flawlessly!

I can honestly state that i have not heard any more authentic sounding classic Canterbury Scene sounds outside of the original 70s golden years than what THE BOOT LAGOON have conjured up. The band perfectly nails every nuance of the genre. This single was not included on the EP that followed but outside of these two scant examples of their channeling sessions, there has been no release since 2012. That is quite the shame because this is the type of band that has proven without doubt that it can imitate the greats in perfect mimicry and i would love to experience the growth of the band as it feels more comfortable taking the liberty to insert more personally creative elements. As a stand alone single this is excellent!

Probably should be 3.5 but so good and i want to encourage the band to crank out some more!