Customer Reviews

Torch of the Mystics

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the release by which all other SCG albums will be judged, for now and forever. Coherent, compact, fully-developed Indian-tinged-surf-rock psychedelic sludgy strangeness. Features the epic "Space Prophet Dogon," plus "The Flower," a song with actual lyrics, actually in English. Probably their most easily-accessable album, and a good starting place for SCG beginners. Absolutely essential.

Without showy eclecticism, Sun City Girls are able to leave you with the feeling that you've been chanting the Rig Veda while listening to ZZ Top. The epic "Space Prophet Dogon" resounds like a desert wind blowing sand through an abandoned amp. All the while, Alvarius B.'s plaintive wail assures you: This Is Not A Planet. And you are comforted.

This is an album that will hit you afterwords - when you've turned it off and left the building, the sounds will creep back into your head. This album is very different from the earlier "midnight cowboys..." (the lesser of the two available on cd) - less ROCK, more complex layering and compositions (with a little of that ROCK stuff). Recommended for someone looking for something new.

i wish i had the proper words to describe this album

upon first listen
you may feel as if lost in a foreign country
a place where you couldn't even begin to figure out where you
are because all signs a undecipherable
anxious
afraid
frustrated
confused

at this point
there are really two ways to go
embrace these feelings and make a go of it
or panic

my advice is, do not panic
you will find that the native folk are friendly
that their ways, though different, are wonderful

perhaps slightly intoxicating
and you will thoroughly enjoy your stay

they seem to pull influence from everywhere
drone, surf, space, ocean, animal, plant, rock, and . . .
wait
are these genres or things?
a bit of both i suspect

this is fantastically different and honest music