Friday 14 February 2014

The Dandelion - The Dandelion EP

EP review by soul1@thesoundofconfusion.com


More psych from Denmark, only this time Bad Afro are sending us some sounds recorded by Australian Daniel J Poulter, also known as The Dandelion. Both countries have contributed massively to this new wave of sonic explorers, although rather than setting off on their own voyages, many of them are following routes already conquered by bands from the past, and this EP is no different. We know from the opening bar to 'I Turned On As You Turned Round' that the variety of psychedelia here is towards the proggy end of the spectrum. It all goes a bit Jethro Tull with the flutes, especially on 'All Seeing Eye Syndrome', but there's something more to these songs than that. Since those days, this style has seen many incarnations and reinterpretations, and these have seeped their way into The Dandelion's music. Not for the first time lately are we reminded of the drones of Wooden Shjips and their ilk. The opening track suddenly blossoms into something more engaging with a guitar solo at the end; a nice coda and something to catch your ear and reel you into this world.

'Here Comes Love' is like prime-period T. Rex, maybe as though Bolan had spent the '60s necking acid with an electric guitar and a full band instead of settling for an acoustic backed by a bongo player. Those flutes creep in again, perhaps warming themselves up for the aforementioned 'All Seeing Eye Syndrome'. This is perhaps the most classic track here, stirring exotic flavours, organ and a different guitar sound into the mix and sometimes venturing off into its on little head-space for a while. If you want hippy notions, then the alien referencing 'Pleiadian Love Vibration' has the subject matter as well as the sound. The instrumental breaks on each of these tunes are different but always interesting. It's a handy weapon to have in your arsenal. Maybe 'Borderline Originality Disorder' is The Dandelion's way of admitting that so much of this music is borrowed, but it does have his own twist to it. Borrowed, but never copied straight; these are original songs and nothing seems pilfered except the style, and no one complains that any modern rock band with a riff is just stealing from The Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin, do they? 'Leaving It Behind Blues' ends the EP on a suitably trippy note, with those ever present drums booming out their tribal beat and instruments clambering all over each other to try and find space. We all know that this new psychedelia movement is about to reach saturation point, but The Dandelion bring something a little different to the table, making this one worth keeping.





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Stream the EP in full

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