SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION

The effort was almost seamless, but it shows. There's a difference between a song without drums and a band without a drummer, and you can hear it throughout the problematic ebb and flow of an otherwise excellent album. From the haunted opening ambiance of "Dear Anne" (an elegy to manic- depressive poet Anne Sexton) the musical tension slowly builds toward an early climax in "Bruise", an obvious album (and career) highlight. The song unfolds like a compulsive bad trip, combining overlapped archival recitations of the Lord's Prayer with a suitably acid-fried guitar chorus, glowing with all the black light of a darker heaven.

After that the music traces an irregular but often spellbinding path across a broad spectrum of psychedelic ballads and southwest Texan Krautrock (not an oxymoron: listen to "Threshold", or the weird intuitive groove of "The Innocentes", for proof). The energy level collapses almost completely in the aptly-named "Dust and Ashes", before rising like an unexpected phoenix on the wings of another interstellar guitar solo. And from there it's a graceful descent to the gentle beauty of the title track: six minutes of blissful twin-guitar melancholy approaching the higher elevations of Post Rock territory.

One edition of the album adds an essential encore: a dynamic reading of the 1971 CAN melody "Oh Yeah". The song was one of several covers recorded by the group (alongside similar nods to The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and the neo-psych trio Opal), each in its own way an improvement over the original. Besides acknowledging an obvious musical influence, the ascending rhythms of the Can classic allowed a kindred band of Inner Space explorers the chance to end their second album on a (rare) upbeat note.

Seven Percent Solution would persevere for several more years, sadly without ever outgrowing their cult attraction status. This was a group that could have (and would have) gone from strength to strength, if given the chance for wider exposure. But in retrospect they remain one of the best American rock bands to emerge from the end of the last millennium.

The album's techno-kitsch title was better suited to an '80s synth-pop effort, instead of the almost symphonic brand of psychedelia played here, amazingly created without the benefit of keyboards (those monumental sheets of sound were made entirely by guitars). The group itself was named after Nicholas Meyer's 1974 Sherlock Holmes novel, in which the Baker Street detective hires Sigmund Freud to help cure his cocaine habit...a fitting choice for such addictive music: the aural equivalent of a lucid dream, recalled in perfect clarity.

Even at its heaviest, the album is typically weightless but always well-grounded, never yielding to the aimless jamming of other space rockers. The key to the subtle power of the band, best heard in songs like 'Revolve' and the loping waltz of 'The Road and the Common' (among many others) was a combination of seductive grooves, soaring orchestral guitars, and spellbound singing. In one instance ('Built on Sand') they even cribbed lyrics from R.E.M., transforming the indie-pop verses of 'What If We Give It Away?' into lines of spectral poetry never imagined in Athens Georgia, adding a contemporary influence alongside the more obvious nods to CAN, early PINK FLOYD, and the more psychedelic digressions of THE BEATLES.

The Seven Percent style has elsewhere been likened to Shoegazer Rock, yet another totally artificial label, and in this case almost comically shortsighted. Never mind the shoes: the focal point of their collective gaze was always somewhere toward the infinite, and the musical bridge to that far horizon stands up better than my own plum-colored attempts to describe it.

[ Rueful postscript: It's a pity the band's marketing skills didn't match their musical aspirations. Early pressings of the album included a duplicate CD in a separate sleeve, with instructions to 'please give this copy to a friend', a clever idea that obviously failed to raise their profile. A late review after eighteen years is a poor substitute for the gift of free music, but it's the best I can offer here. ]

Glockenspiel and Beeman's awesome vocals wrap you up on Dear Anne - lack of percussion is indicated here. The triple pack 3 to 5 builds the album's core for me. Carousel holds tribal drums and repetitve spacey guitar stuff, relatively simple but effective anyhow. The subsequent Bruise shows them on the move to traverse the Milky Way at the latest - an essential space rock song, if you ask me. A rumbling bass, hallucinatory voice samples, screaming and soaring guitars are bouncing back and forth - wonderful!. This went straight on to my personal treasure chest.

Provided with a relaxed groove Threshold follows - so charming and lovely that you are willing to switch the repeat modus on ... forever and a day. Not necessary though because some songs are still following, including the instrumental title track - reminiscent of Wishbone Ash's intriguing twin guitar presence a bit. The Lone Starfighter release offers a special bonus track, adopted from Can's 'Tago Mago' album, also released on Hidden Aggenda as 7'' - lively to the contrary, a good interpretation (except somebody really misses Damo Suzuki's vocals).

End of inspiration? Although they had started to work on a follower album ... this should be their final effort - unfortunately. Melody and atmosphere - this music is coming close to 100 Percent Solution I would say with magnificent compositions and cosmic ambience. Lost in reverie - something to relax. They are the masters of an echoed guitar sound here, definitely trippy, respectively even shoegaze. You won't miss the synthesizers at all. Recommended!

"All About Satellites And Spaceships" features gentle guitar and atmosphere with the faint sounds of a space transmission in the background. "Built On Sand" has a much fuller sound with drums and vocal melodies contributing. It settles down 2 minutes in then these tribal-like drums and spacey vocals come to the fore. Another calm before 4 1/2 minutes as themes are repeated. "Resolve" has such a good intro that builds. Dreamy vocals after a minute.This is great ! I like the nimble bass lines too.Vocals stop for a while then come back late. Best song so far. "Happy ?" has this laid back guitar as drums and bass join in quickly. Spacey vocals after a minute. It kicks in a minute later (nice) as contrasts continue. Another fantastic tune. "The Air Bends Sunlight" builds with vocals. I like the guitar here. It kicks in around a minute. A calm follows then it builds as themes are repeated.

"Your Kingdom,Your World" is spacey with drums and sampled words joining in. Incredible sound here. It calms down then it rebuilds. It's spacey to end it as well. "The Road And The Common" is a vocal track with strummed guitar and a beat. Cool tune. "Snuff Gold And Gold Tilings" has this beautiful sounding guitar, a beat and faint vocals with atmosphere.Vocals a minute in. Another excellent number. "Blindshore" is spacey with a beat, and the vocals don't arrive until after 3 1/2 minutes. "Lost" is spacey as the sound builds slowly. Vocals join in. "The Sky Suspended" which means it's not moving sideways? This is minimilistic and moving.The drums don't arrive until around 4 minutes.

A solid 4 stars and fans of Psychedelic / Space Rock should check them out.