Dos Santos – Money Gun
Each day, somebody writes a novel or a lengthy blog post about how, through the power of hypnosis, they were able to reconnect to some of their past lives and, wouldn’t you know it, all these people, in all their lives, were kings, artists or famous villains. Nobody is ever a humble plumber, and why would they? Imagination shouldn’t be wasted on things like that.
In much the same way, people spend their hours of sleep letting their psyche create glorious, sometimes frightening scenarios in which they place themselves. We all dream of being the heroes of stories, of being at the centre of great love affairs and of winning our way against impossible odds. Dos Santos’ gun-totting psychedelia is music meant to place you within that realm
“Money Gun”, for all its dust-raising, stranger-walks-town-with-50-cents-and-murder-on-his-mind aesthetic, feels like a soundtrack to the final dream of the night, to the moment just before you wake up and have to face reality. Dos Santos creates the Latin-flavoured psych-rock for these fantasies to take place, and it’s strong enough that if you make it part of your dreams, it’ll be with you for the rest of your waking hours.
Babe Rainbow – Polymuscalsaccharide
There aren’t a lot of people left who are genuinely optimistic for the future, or, even, who can carry a smile on their face for the majority of a day. And, worse still, those are the people that in our ailing society tend to be ridiculed for their ability to see the possibilities and the good in the world.
But, try to be better than those throwing out ridicule! In fact, you ought to try and encourage and learn from those whose life hasn’t been able to grind down into a mess of anxiety-ridden pessimistic wrecks. Babe Rainbow is a band that has been sharing its Sunny-outlook on life through song for years and is one of the most important bands in modern psych-rock.
In “Polymuscalsaccharide,” the Australians continue their journey to revive the true spirit of hippieism. Yes, the sound is still as breezy and warm as ever. Yes, the group is still trying to make you feel like you’re enjoying a day at the beach even if what you’re doing is listening to this in your living room on a rain-soaked afternoon. And, sure, the lush psych-pop sounds remain just as lush and inviting.
