BAROCK

A rather odd German group with a mixture of styles, Parzival released two strange albums. This one's all over the map, starting with a breezy psych pop song (a bonus track) before diving in a melange of songs that veer from flute-driven, Tullish rockers to folky tunes, baroque influences to prog rock, even featuring a mellotron at times. The singer's style is pleasantly abrasive in the Peter Hammill or Arthur Brown sense that may not appeal to some listeners. It certainly is an adventurous album with lots of violin and flute, although it is hard to pin down exactly what style the group was trying to pursue, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all. I do prefer the more tuneful, laid-back moments like the first track and "Scarlet Horses", but's a personal taste. It's definitely an interesting record for psych listeners to absorb and a nice contribution to the German psych scene.