Chicago based psychsters The Luck Of Eden Hall have a sizable discography dating back to the early 90s, and have made many contributions to Fruits de Mer Records compilations and singles. Regal Crabomphone is the Fruits de Mer sub-label for releases that include original songs and the latest from The Luck Of Eden Hall is a 4-song single with two covers and two band penned tunes.
The first of the covers is a killer interpretation of The Doors’ Crystal Ship. I love the way it switches between dreamy and acidic sections. Proggy mellotron-ish orchestrations sail throughout, which sounds really cool paired with the molten guitar bits. The second cover is Black Sheep, by a band called SRC that I’d never heard of. A quick YouTube search took care of that, revealing that SRC was from Detroit and Black Sheep was released in ’68. The song has a haunting, doomy organ melody and shimmering acidic guitar licks. The Luck Of Eden Hall are faithful to the spirit of the original, especially the crucial organ riff. But the band put their own indelible stamp on the song, with their characteristic vocals, the drumming is more dramatic, and the guitar solos have a ripping STING.
The two band penned tunes are from their Alligators Eat Gumdrops album, released this past summer. Bangalore opens with a brief sitar/acid guitar combo intro and then quickly launches into a high energy psych rocker with chunky guitar chords and sitar riffs. This Is Strange has a great pop-psych sound, but also more of that chunky guitar that injects a heavier, meatier edge into the music. The spirit of the 60s lives large in this band, though the songs are no mere retro affair. The compositions are outstanding, and combined with top notch production and arrangement makes the music pretty damn impressive.
The single will be available mid-December and is limited to 750 copies, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!
For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records web site at: http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
Visit The Luck Of Eden Hall at: http://theluckofedenhall.com
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz