Census of Hallucinations - "Nothing Is As It Seems"
Census of Hallucinations' latest album brings together the four tracks from their Imagine John Lennon EP from late 2014, along with five new songs that continue the musical and lyrical theme of the EP. The songs have that blend of off-centre-ness and sophistication that characterises all the best prog rock, along with further aspects of psychedelia, spacerock, classic rock, and a disorienting and nightmarish brand of experimental music. They also bring in a touch of electronic dance music in Brainless Ape, a new development for this band and one that works well alongside the other elements of the CoH sound. Census of Hallucinations are a band for whom the lyrics are of equal importance to the music. You will not find formulaic love songs, or words thrown together just because they rhyme; Tim Jones uses these songs as a vehicle for his pull-no-punches social commentary, with barbed lyrical attacks on the small-mindedness, selfishness, hypocrisy and greed that are rife within a culture that encourages the negative kind of individualism ('me me me' self-obsession) while shooting down the positive kind of individuality (thinking for oneself instead of just going along with what everyone else is doing). Census of Hallucinations are all about inventive music and lyrics that get you thinking.
Reviewed by Kim Harten (Bliss Aquamarine - http://www.blissaquamarine.net)