Blinded By The Sun (Tee Pee)
by Craig Regala
Roots? Antecedents? Early Blue Cheer (especially the second record, when songs that lit a fire under Mudhoney’s skinny ass appeared), Kak (before they imploded), Shocking Blue’s stupendous psych/bubblegum record, and NYC’s ’70s response via early Blue Öyster Cult. Hell, all kinds of hard rock/psych splatter-flower-howl from the Nixon era, gargled through the requisite Dee-troit Amboy Dukes/Frost/Stoogeness head waggle. Look, the general joy of letting a hit of windowpane melt on your tongue while that rare Randy Holden LP spins in your mind… forever… should bring you to this. Play it for an oldster and they’ll tell you it’s “bunk,” meaning it’s too “contemporary,” meaning it lives and breaths in real space and time; i-fuckin’-e, NOW.
You can sign up for this thing pretty easily through Tee Pee and enjoy the flow of life these songs bring on. Really, these guys are one of a buncha European bands pulling on the big-ass history of classique bell-bottom underground sounds to fuel feelings that contemporary aggro and pop rock just don’t touch. Whether it’s a Damnation of Adam Blessing cover (“Driver”), or tapping into Arthur Lee’s vibe (check “So Close”), On Trial can flesh it out like mid-period Monster Magnet or their Euro-compatriots, Mammoth Volume and Generous Maria, as well as ace U.S. combo, Volume. Nice, clean, clear, “where is my mind?” vocals (you certainly can relate to’m, don’t lie), and the good taste to use either the velvet or the hammer to get ya. A good one.
(PO Box 20307 New York, NY 10009)