Cummins opens “Lake Shore Drive” and again a warm tone envelopes the music, due in part to the slower tempo. As the song goes on, it repeats itself, but it doesn’t build. It just rolls along a plateau and offers no payoff, just fading away. At over eight minutes, shaving off a couple of minutes wouldn’t have hurt it
“Not Afraid Of The Dark” is harsh. The instruments’ tones are almost strident. The keys in particular don’t blend well and along with each guitar they seem to be doing their own thing, yet they make the chaos work as each one slowly fades away from the mix.
“Shrooms ‘N Cheese” is a monster, lumbering along at 15-minutes plus. It definitely sounds like the more improv-heavy of an improv-heavy album, leaning towards the jam usually associated with Umphrey’s. There are even great pieces throughout, but altogether it doesn’t work as a cohesive whole. If they had been three separate songs, I wouldn’t have been the wiser, but that might be where the ‘shrooms come in.
“What’s The Word, Thunderbird” closes out the album with a sweet, funky, groove. The keys standout with a crazy, vintage, space age, electronic effect. It’s filled with nice licks all around, and though it’s almost 12 minutes, it sounds like one piece of music even through transitions.
It’s amazing to hear tales of bands and artists spending ages locked in the studio, tweaking and fiddling about, trying to get everything just right. Then this stellar debut by OHMphrey comes out recorded over two days with no overdubs, just the fellas letting it rip. Proof positive that quality beats quantity most every time. I know they have their separate bands, and we should be, and I am, grateful to have this, but it would be very disappointing for a union this good to just be a one-off.
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