Outer Music Diary

First Band From Outer Space – We’re Only In It For the Spacerock. 2005. I was introduced to FBFOS through their second album and actually managed to pen a more formal review on Gnosis. This album marks their debut. Yet another quality Swedish band on the ever impressive Transubstans label. This one is a little bit more in the stoner bag than the followup, with more heavy chord action and yelled vocals verse psychedelic atmospheres and freaky guitar solos (though there’s plenty of that too). Sort of a cross between old Hawkwind and Colour Haze. They improved on their next album (adding flute helped immensely), but this is still not one to overlook.

Lady Lake – Unearthed. 1980. These were recordings from 1979-1980 that were intended for Lady Lake’s second album after “No Pictures”. I’ve long been a fan of Lady Lake’s debut, finding it to be a perfect mix of instrumental melody, sound and texture. “Unearthed” has some similarities, but is definitely a product of a later time – the songs are much more straightforward, with tinny synthesizers, typical of the New Wave era. And the recording isn’t ready for primetime, so it’s definitely a little rough (something they are very aware of in the liner notes). Normally I avoid these kind of “table scraps” and I probably should’ve here as well. However, I think many fans of the band will highly enjoy this set – especially if you’re drawn to less than perfect live recordings. All the material is original, and the band does possess a great sense of melodic penmanship. Conditionally recommended.

Exsimio – Carbono 14. 2005. Exsimio play in that style of guitar-centered tightly played instrumental work that one can find in bands such Philharmonie, Yang or even some of Djam Karet’s work. Another more obscure reference would be Brazil’s Algaravia from the mid-90s. And, by extension, the Court of King Fripp is what’s really behind this band’s mindset. Elements from “Red” to “Discipline” can be picked up. Interesting to note that the tracks with Spanish narration give it an odd Italian feel, like Latte e Miele or Pholas Dactylus. This is Exsimio’s second album, 6 years on from their debut. I haven’t heard that one, so not sure how much the band has improved, but I’ve been told this is the better album. “Carbono 14” is on Chile’s own Mylodon, another consistent go to label that has many new and exciting acts.

Madrugada – s/t. 1974. One of the last major label (Polydor) Italian acts not on CD, BTF has finally ended that with both albums being released in beautiful mini-LPs (though the mastering on the debut isn’t exemplary). Madrugada’s first album is a mix of light instrumental and singer songwriter material (Side 1), with more expressive and elaborate progressive rock compositions (with some wonderful Moog runs) filling the remainder. Of course, it’s the latter that holds my interest, though to be fair the melodic songs are excellent for what they are. This is a quintessential Italian sounding album, so if you’re a fan, you’ll want it for sure. Otherwise, this obviously isn’t the place to start.

Madrugada – Incastro. 1976. “Incastro” improves on the debut in every way. Gone are the singer songwriter moments, and it’s place is a more expanded instrumental approach, almost towards space rock and jazz fusion in places. Violin, flute, sax, and electric guitar are added here to great effect. Locanda Delle Fate was the last hurrah for major label Italian prog, but this can’t be far behind on that list (remember Italy’s best label of the time, Grog, wasn’t a major). There’s also about 30 minutes of bootleg quality bonus tracks, that shows the band firmly in jazz fusion mode. A definite must pick up.

Le Mani – s/t (EP). 1976. A recent discovery from the good folks at BTF, Le Mani delivers top quality progressive rock of the highest order. They were to release an album on Trident before the label went belly up. You can hear in Le Mani’s sound Metamorfosi (organ work), Delirium (sax/flute, vocals and driving rhythms) or ELP in their “Tarkus” heyday. That’s the good news. The bad news is the album is only 18 minutes long and the last 5 minutes are modern recordings that sound appended. Seems that BTF should’ve paired this with an equally obscure group who may have also had only a few minutes of unreleased work? In any case, it’s been released in a beautiful mini-LP sleeve (the Japanese one on Arcangelo is nicer actually) and is good for collectors.

Banchee – s/t. 1969. Banchee, a major label group on Atlantic, came around about two years too late, as they had the type of sound that would have made them household names had they got in early enough. But just as Michael Dell is a billionaire and the former owner of “Parrot Computers” is in debtors prison, it’s always a matter of timing. Typical jangly “West Coast” psych that’s as much Quicksilver as it is The Byrds. Not to say the album doesn’t have its moments, or forward thinking ideas, such as the trippy ‘As Me Thinks’, the melancholic ‘Follow a Dream’, the heavy fuzz of ‘Evolmia’ and the jazzy prog number ‘Hands of a Clock’. Definitely worth seeking out for a listen. No legit CD, but originals aren’t terribly expensive (their second album below is a different story).

Banchee - Thinkin’. 1971. Two years later, Banchee re-emerged as an aggressive hard rock group on Polydor with plenty of great wah wah guitar. There’s even a little of that feel-good Rare Earth or Grand Funk Railroad jam quality. For the first half of the album, I thought Banchee might be able to avoid the usual blues trappings that tend to drag these albums down a bit. But the second half of the album is almost entirely blues rock and knocks down what could’ve been a monster hard rock album. Even as it is, aficionado’s consider “Thinkin’” one of the major label holy grails. As such, originals are very sought after and expensive. No legit CD exists of this one either.

Butterfingers – s/t. 1970. The first half of this album is a very predictable brand of blues psych, and induces yawns at an alarming rate. Then out of nowhere there’s this crazy instrumental called ‘High Walkin’, that’s part lounge, part jazz rock, part psych. They throw in one more clunker and then things start to get really weird. As if Dieter Dirks slipped into the studio for the final mix. Now we know the real inspiration for the Marcus “From the House of Trax” album! There’s phasing, the vocals are slowed down, the jams get longer – the guitar louder. I settled on a 9, but there are 17 minutes here that are closer to 12 territory. Cesar – this has your name on it man. LP and CD reissues courtesy of Shadoks (and their precursor label Little Indians). Nobody knows anything about this band, but we’re told it’s from the “Midwest”. Now how do they know that?