WELCOME INSIDE THE BRAIN

Welcome Inside the Brain is a psychedelic/space rock band from Germany that released it's 2nd full length album 'Queen of the Day Flies' in May of 2019. The sound the band wants to focus on is recreating the psychedelic style from the 60s and 70s. The line up consists of Frank M'hlenberg on vocals, Georg Spie' on guitar, Johann Fritsche on organ, Paul Lapp on e-bass and Moog, and Hans Otto on drums. The album has 7 tracks and a total run time of 41 minutes.

'Baptist Preacher' starts off with a cheery organ that reminds one instantly of The Doors, and the vocals are a bit like Morrison's, but with a lighter tone. The center section has a nice groove with more organ and jangly guitars. It remains quite uptempo all the way through. 'Naked Philosopher' leads out with guitar riffs with a slight bluesy feel to it. There is a heavier sound to this one, and there are more Doors-like sounds, even down to the vibes. After two minutes, there is a rousing guitar solo that adds more power to the track. Since this track nears the 7 minute mark, there is plenty of room for development of intensity. After 4 minutes, things get quiet when the vocals return with only the organ and the emotional level goes up a notch or two, then the original feel comes back driven by guitars and improvising organ.

'Broken Record' begins somberly with soft guitar that brings in a moderately slow tempo. There is a darker feel to this one with a mysterious tone. The melody is quite memorable and interesting. The organ gives everything a slightly spiritual feel, but in pop-psych style. The title track 'Queen of the Day Flies' begins with a heavy guitar/organ riff with frantic sounding vocals and returns to the upbeat, but blues based psychedelic rock sound. For the instrumental break, the tempo speeds up quite a bit and another great guitar solo results. The original riff and tempo returns at the last part of the track.

'White Room' is just over 8 minutes and it is not a cover of the 'Cream' song. It's a basic walking rhythm with catchy beat. The instrumental breaks between the verses become heavier but always lighten up for the vocal sections. After a heavy guitar solo, the music mellows out at the 4 minute mark and later the vocalist comes back with a high falsetto voice as the music floats along for a while. The intensity returns before the 7 minute mark and the vocals become heavier. 'Call Me a Liar' has more of a jazz flair to it, but still retains the psychedelic flair, this time much softer. The vocal melody is a bit more complex. On the instrumental breaks, some interesting passages are squeezed out of the guitar.

'Hometown' finishes up the album. The track starts with atmospheric effects and improvised drumming. Suddenly, after 2 minutes, the music becomes rather humorous and some spoken words about your first joint, then the band kicks in with guitar and organ based riffs. Sung vocals come in later as guitars and organ swirl around the moderate drum pattern. At 4 minutes, things become loose and disjointed as space rock and psychedelic effects come back, but things return to a more structured sound, then another rousing guitar solo bring the vocals back in much more intense and bring the album to a fiery end.

I found this album very enjoyable and entertaining, and it definitely brings in feelings of nostalgia for the psychedelic stylings patterned after The Doors and other bands similar to that. The jamming is not extensive, but there are some great sections that will keep you happy, and the overall sound is more on a rock-blues based psychedelia than the space rock style, though it approaches that from time to time. There is not a lot of progressive styling here, but it does exist, but for the most part, remains quite accessible. However, the music is quite reminiscent of the popular psych bands of the era like The Yardbirds, Cream and, of course, The Doors. The music is fun and appealing, and lovers of that classic sound should enjoy this very much. I would give it 3.5 stars, but it does tip towards the 4 star rating than a 3 star rating.