The Psych Rock Lounge

 

One of the most idiosyncratic but accessible experimental/electronic/psychedelic albums ever made. The United States of America's self titled first and only album was the brain child of electronics wiz Joseph Byrd.

 

Byrd basically built a crude homemade 'synthesizer' with an oscillator, a ring modulator and a voltage control filter, which could be found in every early synth of the era. Using these components separately or in tandem, the group were able to create sounds or alter audio signals, including vocals as well as music, to great effect. However, building one from scratch is one thing, 'programing' it to produce a myriad of sounds was quite another as the components had to be rewired or reconfigured constantly.

 

Joined by an electric violin player that used an early version of an Octavia like devise to raise and drop his instrument one octave, a drummer, a fretless bassist and the Grace Slick sounding vocals of singer Dorothy Moskowitz, TUSoA produced an eclectic array of songs that mimicked acid rock or space rock, along with pyschedelia and electronica, mixed with cultural social commentary that produced music that was both of it's time and of the future.

 

The group broke up due to ego clashes and, what seems the bane of 60's psych groups, drug arrests.

 

Dated at times? Yes, but still worth a listen. And a re-listen.

 

Not as dark or 'heavy' as some other bands but still very enjoyable.

 

 

 

I don't recall if DeRatogis mentioned (Sowing) The Seeds Of Love's Beatles inspired title track in his book Turn On Your Mind, there's even a brief blast of Penny Lane piccolo trumpet on the track!, so I will.

 

The rest of the album follows TFF's great pop inflected New Wave that started with their first album The Hurting.

 

There always seemed to be some subliminal Psych or American sixties influence under some of the band's songs such as the hit Everybody Wants To Rule The World, which always reminded me a bit of late sixties era songs from The Rascals.

 

Rascals or not, TFF produced some stellar pop music in a dismal decade. 

MGMT - Management, is you'd prefer - were The Next Big Thing back in 2007 when they dropped their debut LP Oracular Spectacular (upper right), and for good reason. The duo of Ben Goldwater and Andrew VanWyngarden plied a truly spectacular mix of psychedelia and synthy, '80's-esque indietronic. It's always been very beautiful stuff. In fact, they're so good that up there I've included Climbing To New Lows (upper left), which is an album of demos from '05 that leaked, intentionally or not. Even that demo collection is more than worthwhile. I highly recommend Oracular Spectacular and Congratulations (lower left) at the least to adventerous psych fans, but this is all worth seeking out.