| 'Ballade Of Tristram’s Last Harping' Trakwerx  |
Take a look at the weather. It’s pissing it down. The wind is howling. the clouds are grey and foreboding. The storm is gathering outside the window and lashing London with icy cold rain and ripping branches from the trees, hurling them across the tracks and delaying the trains. And on the stereo, like a little ray of psychedelic sunshine, comes The 17th Pygmy.
I don’t know if it’s down to the sorry state of things outside or whether this is just a really good album, but in contrast to the stormy clouds ‘Ballade Of Tristram’s Last Harping’ sounds so refreshing and uplifting that it’s hard to tell. Drawing on sixties influences such as the first ministrations of Pink Floyd and The 13th Floor Elevators, the band have created 10 tracks that sound as if they could have been lifted straight from the psychedelic decade and transplanted somewhere in the millennium, stealing vocals from Grace Slick en route. ‘She Get’s High’ is the standout track, the nicely distorted guitar riff and the Velvet Underground-eque vocals combining beautifully.
There are of course down sides to this. The production is too crisp, detracting from their influences and sounding sometimes more like an impression than an original piece. You can’t help but think that had they recorded this upon sixties studio kit with lots of pre-Dolby and digital crackle, the results would have been quite staggering. Also, there is a slight pretentiousness to the lyrics (and to the album title) that can grate from time to time. But overall, this is hugely enjoyable. Come the summer and the heat of the sunshine, it’ll no doubts sound a lot better with a spliff and a cold beer sat in the garden.
By: Steven Fanning
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If you like the sound of this, then check these out?
13th Floor Elevators
Barrett-era Pink Floyd
Jefferson Airplane
Links of interest?
www.myspace.com/17pygmies
www.myspace.com/subbacultcharawks
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