WANDERING IN THE VASTNESS

Welcome back on the horse, Roderick. This is the follower effort of the acclaimed 2020 album 'Secret Of A Red Planet', that was highly praised by me. SKY CRIES MARY are offering a chain of 12 more compressed tracks this time. Social distance. Like in many similar cases the COVID-19 conditions have forced them to alter the modus operandi, to record in different studios. Song-writing dominates jamming appeal overall on this occasion. That evolved into a thoroughly wide range from a stylistical point of view, including weird psychedelic excursions up to rather simple rocking songs, let's say close to the Rolling Stones. In best tradition the album again was released on the acclaimed US label Trail Records, the 4th in a row in the meanwhile to be precise. Jack Endino, producer and engineer for Nirvana and Soundgarden for example, is in responsibilty here once more, also contributing guitar and drums concerning one song at least.

Crystal Gazing is making a powerful kick-off, as well as Bridge Sleepers showcasing a bit of a punk attitude I'd say. Somewhat getting similar to the band Beyond-O-Matic, the atmospheric space mantra like Red Red Fox and Chaos At The Port later are providing perfectly complementing male and female vocals. This yet is SKY CRIES MARY I learned to love during recent years! Debra Reese is involved now since 2017 as the vocal counterpart to band founder Roderick Wolgamott, who is providing the lyrics in general. This is contrasted due to the straightforward rocking Can't Find The Time, one can say akin to the Rolling Stones in sound, just to emphasize the stylistical range. Or Bright Biggest Eye which bears some distinct Americana psych pop appeal.

The song couple The Dolmen and Jodo then sees them more on the meditative respectively experimental, weird side. As noted beforehand already, this is serving great variety. A big plus, they don't have repeated themselves, which would have been an easier practice probably. And then it's quite obvious, just important to note that the musicanship appears to be flawless again. Speaking of the also involved Ben Ireland (keyboards, drums), Curt Eckman (bass) and main guitarist Kevin Whitworth. Just from a very personal view, as it is always more or less, I would not count 'Wandering In The Vastness' among their absolutely best efforts, though this still is a properly made and recommended album anyhow. Three and a half stars out of five.

SKY CRIES MARY, known recently in 2020 with her previous album, had seduced me to breathe a melodic, soaring, psychedelic and stoner prog rock; a sound reminding me of the trances of the crazy and still young PATTI SMITH. A 13th album after a debut in 1986, an interlude at the end of 2007 and a revival since the new decade. Their music is a true synthesis of sounds, feelings, thoughts leading to meditation in this pandemic period; isolated but determined to give the best of themselves, they were assisted by Jack ENDINO to design this psychedelic, spiritual and metaphysical album, a singular adventure coming out of Rodrick's dreams in part.

"Crystal Gazing" begins with a dark wave rock trance entry, a powerful space rock stamped reserved tune. "L Train" over a cold groovy pop melody, greasy, rough, aggressive 60's pop that's already getting back to basics. "Red Red Fox" with the drums clear and dry, distant metronomic, psychedelic sounds and a vocal on a mantra for trance; an aerial dreamscape from a different world. "Can't Find the Time" raw rock with some youth sap ROLLING STONES!! A psychedelic break on punky, rhythmic, expressive MOTORPSYCHO or MONSTER MAGNET; it starts on a beautiful melody with the alternating voices of Rodrick and Debra. "Chaos at the Port" and a long piece with western slide effect, sound with guitar from The EDGE; when the associated voices combine with the hippie fashion of the 60s and still invite meditation.

"Bright Biggest Eye" for minimalist southern rock and a nice delicate psych rock-stoner rise that continues on "The Dolmen" for the jungle, Indian, oriental mantra sequence with tribal percussion and sitar synth, continuing with "Jodo" and its violins, an omnipresent bass, synths in reverberation. Musical madness, perhaps the best piece with ambient on the old TANGERINE DREAM, amazing. "Brifge Sleepers" on The CLASH, the POGUES, a raw folk rock tonic tinged with punk, confusing after the previous ambient passages. "Raga Metal Machine" oh there the intro that takes your breath away, the 60's with a good dose of LSD and other toxic substances approved at that time, voices chanted backwards in a long crescendo and this sitar synth that goes very far. "A Lonely Deer" for the standard title, the voices sharing the limelight on a slide guitar, talkative and the drums which follow. "Dream Yourself to Sleep" again on a psychedelic mantra; pads, more percussion, a vibrating wood saw, a psychedelic flute, disturbing reverberation; confusingly, the pace picks up for the final mantra crescendo that takes us to Neptune and Saturn.

SKY CRIES MARY offers an hour of spatial digression mixing psychedelic soaring rock with bewitching mantra sounds; well you have to hold on and open your ears if you don't have your chakras, but time plays in favor of this completely hypnotic album where I find myself tapping on the keyboard in tune with the djembe. It's vintage, melancholic on the wanderings of Jim MORRISON, it's vintage without being old, it's trance and rock without drugs but as read elsewhere, it's also good with it.