Census Of Hallucinations - "The 8th Dwarf"
Census of Hallucinations from England keeps up the pretty continuous stream of new albums on their own Stone Premonitions label. Eight albums and one compilation in only three years! I can't really compare this one to their previous output, since I don't have it. The main figures in the band are Terri-B (vocals) and Tim Jones (vocals and guitars). Dave Pipkin does the drum programming, Dave McLean plays 5 string bass and Paddi, who is apparently from New Zealand, is responsible for acoustic and slide guitars, drums, programming etc. In addition, Cousin Silas and The Reverend Rabbit make guest appearances. The Eighth Dwarf is, all in all, a very pleasant to listen to. The vocals of Terri and Tim work well together. The production is superb, and so the sound is very good. I like Tim's guitar work a lot. This is psychedelic rock, without question, but not so much in the explode-your-brains style, but more on the tranquil, uplifting and relaxing side. There are a lot of short, weird interludes including strange narration among the 18 tracks of the CD. There is a certain New Age feel to be found from time to time. You can also find some Gong-styled humour on it, which has a refreshing effect. The lyrics are rather political, philosophical or just totally of the wall. The last, hidden track is a funny joke about the guitarist… As usually, the programmed drums annoy me a bit at times, but not that much. Psych and prog heads should absolutely check this album out!
Published in The Psychotropic Zone (www.unimeri.com)