PLAYS

Previously known as Fortes Mentum, this album was fetching monumental price because of its scarcity. Objectively no album is worth the fortunes they were fetching before small labels reissued them in CD format: here the Background label, also responsible for the superb Sindelfingen and first Raw Material reissue. But Pussy's sole album is one of those small gems hovering on the border of Psychedelia and Progressivia, frontier between two musical realms that was anything but hermetic.

Still entrenched in the 60's, the five-piece group (no complete line-up is known) develops an intermediate sound with fuzzed-out guitars and organs (All Of My Life) along with some spacey Theremin-like synth layers (on the superb and aptly-titled Comets which starts with a cow meowing ;-), some RnB traces (the opener), great piano and violin interplay (on the slow-starting We Built The Sun) and echoed piano (the great emotive Tragedy In F Minor) and more.

From the original Meow of Come Back June to the closing Meow of the very good G.E.A.B, the album is a great trip on the afore-mentioned border on the great psych, while remaining very accessible, even a bit commercial (even if it failed to sell), but retaining a certain 60's naïve spirit. Reference-wise, Vanilla Fudge, early Moody Blues/Rare Bird, Touch sometimes coming to mind.

Good album, very enjoyable, but hardly essential, but I guarantee you that when I make a Pussy meow, she will say that it is not only essential but the Essence of Life Itself. To each his own meows.