Highlights: The Final Sugar Rush, A Freak’s Xmas, Power Watch
Does This Guy Stack Up? (it wouldn’t be easy to come up with a much hipper
title than that) is certainly a bizarre listen. At worst (much of side two) –
just bizarre. At best (most of side one) – it’s bizarre and brilliant. This music is hard to categorize, but I guess you
could call it psychedelic pop of lo-fi, somewhat whimsical variety. Think The
Band Of Holy Joy without the folk element.
Having said that, The
Pheromoans manage to serve up something quite unique here. “Power Watch”, one
of the album’s biggest highlights, is based on the lush organ sound and an odd,
charming, addictive melody – a combination that makes the whole thing so intriguing.
“A Freak’s Xmas” should be on your list of songs whose mood and sound are
perfectly captured by the title. Upbeat, groovy freakout with some truly inventive
instrumental arrangement. In fact, ‘inventive’ might be the right word for this
album, even if by side two they get carried away with all that oddness and forget
to bring any interesting melodic substance to such exciting, excited, but
failed experiments as the badly erratic “Deport Little John” and the rather
uneventful “Deck Waltz”.
Still, like I say, even
when it fails – it fails with a bang. Mainly because on Does This Guy Stack Up? The Pheromoans manage to create some truly
colourful, catchy noise. Patchy but engaging, it’s pretty much what you see on that
freakish but friendly cover.
7/10
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