Private
Monster Island : Dream Tiger (US,2001)***
The style of this cd is psych folk pop. They describe it themselves as acid folk which is somewhat correct too. Instrumentally it is a combination of a 70's psychfolk inspiration, sparsly combined with some newer underground pop influences. The mixture of instruments is impressive and is very nice to hear : oud, sitar, tanpura, harmonium, shakuhachi, djembe, gamelon, guitars, bass, cello, flute, drums, Chinese organ, water harp, mini-moog, gongs. I only wished I heard their contributions a bit more. At first, I was slightly puzzled by the combination of influences, of the 80's acoustic underground pop, like in the singing in a few songs with the more dreamy psych folk, for I never thought anyone would ever combine these two worlds. But the more I listedned to the CD, the more I liked what they did. More than one song, like "Halloween" sounds close to the Fit and Limo style. I found it an interesting release. B.T. found it more child-like in its spiritual context, but I didn't care.
The group released before an LP in 1995,called "From the Michigan Floor",and a live cd in Detroit cd from 1999.
Also recently released in 2002 is "Peyotemind" mostly based upon a writing from John Sinclair, which was written under influence of Peyote. The CD also contribute his vocals. "Peyotemind" is more free jazz (Alice Coltrane,..) inspired. Some of the vocals overload the compositions ; the track with live vocals works best. Interesting.
