- Former members of Medway faves and 80’s bastions of 60’s psych The Prisoners reappear with a remarkably vibrant collection of tunes that are equally indebted to the swinging decade but veer much closer to the melodious likes of the 80’s Paisley Underground’s Three O Clock; full of swirling organs, hi octane chorus’s and Monkees-lite harmonies. The songs are short, sweet and full of granny glassed psychedelic touches. ‘You’re Not Dreaming’ is a perfect example of their oeuvre, one part Dukes of Stratosphear, one part Strawberry Alarm Clock and full of Barrett-esque melody.
Elsewhere, some of it is not far removed from Martin Newell’s English garden melancholy, ‘False Memory Lane’ is one example, ‘I’m Still Here’ another. ‘Fools’ isn’t that far from what Oasis might have sounded like without the meat and potatoes laddish swagger and with a true love of the psychedelic era. In fact the album reminds me of a Noel Gallagher favourite, Cotton Mather’s excellent ‘Kontiki’.
Good, fun unpretentious psychedelic pop all round.
Clinton
