The Great Society Mind Destroyers – Spirit Smoke LP (Slow Knife)
If your day job puts you in the same office as the man behind Immune Recordings, the gauntlet’s thrown down; if you’re going to start a label, you better make your records right. From the production side, Slow Knife has it down; beautiful multi-color sleeve, heavy glossy insert, heavier and more colorful vinyl (tie-died yellow and orange) that sounds great and gives up nary a pop or click. So what about the music? Can’t say my mind is destroyed, but I’ll settle for pleasantly but vigorously massaged. The two guitarists seem to think that you should only let up on your wah-wah pedal in order to push it down hard again, and there’s nothing wrong with that. When they let go and flow with the rhythm section, which prioritizes swing and velocity over heaviosity, things are swell. The singing sounds a mite wan, but it’s just there to be echoed into oblivion anyway. All in and all, a strong start for band and label. (http://gsmd.bandcamp.com)
(Bill Meyer)
