KG of Siena Root adds that supremely effective sitar whilst Steve Hayes (Secret Saucer) mixes it up having been given free reign by the band to do whatever he wanted.
Defying any accurate description Good Planets Are Hard To Find is a trip through space, a musical out of body experience, or any other cliché you want to add. Lie back, and float off. The only problem is in the effort needed to actually get yourself back into the drabness of your everyday working life. The real world does look a lot greyer after such an interstellar journey.
Don’t play it on the London Underground’s Circle Line for fear of seeing the same stations several times over, it is that addictive. Instead lie on the floor, surround yourself with imagery of colourful Hindu Gods, dancing hippies, and psychedelic Deadhead posters, and just go with it. Don’t forget to come back though.
Good Planets (may be) Hard To Find but bands this addictive are much harder, trust me.
The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage
Back in the UK we arrive in Glasgow for a look at the mysterious Phantom Band. This is Scotland’s own version and not to be confused with an earlier namesakes.
Log on to their MySpace page and you will be met by a picture of the band splendidly regaled in medieval suits of armour. Look a little more closely and the observant amongst us notice that they are standing beneath a road sign pointing the way to Glasgow, Hamilton, Dundee, and Aberdeen.
This album is an exceptional debut, a must have, a genre defying enticing intoxication that you will find hard to resist. Having said that it defies categorisation, I have to attempt, for the sake of anyone who hasn’t yet heard it, to give it some form.
So here goes:- It’s an intriguing, mindbogglingly creepy ménage of indie, blues, folk, pop, post-punk, and rock.
Checkmate Savage has eerie choruses, experimentation that defies logic, and is in short an exceptionally off beat yet hugely satisfying album. It is distinctly odd ball, in a compulsively addictive way, and totally defies convention. That is what makes it special of course.
This is a work of unique and genuinely twisted near-genius. Again it is the headphone scenario that really draws out its many qualities. This is one for your MP3 player to be played when you really want to go someplace else after a bad day at the office.
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