What’s better than a good psychedelic band? Nothing that’s what. Thought Forms from South West England take a slightly softer, poppier approach to your usual psychedelic band and their second album Ghost Mountain sees them carrying on in this style. The album features two guitars, no bassist, some cool woodwind instruments and dual male/ female vocals – all the ingredients we need for a nice trippy treat. The title is more or less spot on as the music sounds quite dark and haunting at times (Ghost) and paints wonderful landscape in others (Mountain). See what I did there?
The opener ‘Landing’ does what it says on the tin, it bursts the album open like an epic landing onto another planet. The vocals get wonderfully aggressive and you feel like you’re being kidnapped (in a good way) and taken to an exciting destination. It proves to be perfect little atmospheric introduction to a psychedelic voyage.
The second track ‘Ghost Mountain You and Me’ sounds like the title was straight from a post rock song name generator, which is fitting as it sounds like a euphoric post rock tune. It’s not the most inventive song you’ll hear in your life but we all love a bit post rock done well and the song, enhanced by the warm and wonderful female vocals, is done very well indeed.
We then enter different territory with ‘Sans Soliel’ and sadly the weakest part of the album for me. It gets very indie sounding, almost Magic Numbers like and not what you want to be hearing when you’ve previously been promised a ride into space. Sadly it brings you right back down to earth and I think most people would rather hear this band do what they do best, which is a psychedelic jam rather than a fairly forgettable pop song.
‘Burn Me Clean’ which stands at a whopping 12.5 minutes puts this ride right back on course and is the high point of the album. The tribal, timeless vocals conjure a sense of adventure and get those hairs on the back of your neck standing. You feel like you’ve been zapped back in time into a world that’s dark but inviting. Think a slightly slowed down Mugstar opus overlaid with an ancient woodwind instrument for good measure. Like any good proggy song it slowly builds and builds and you really feel a sense of euphoria when the drummer is smashing his kit like a mad man towards the end. Perfect!
We’re then taken into an unmemorable soft punk rock number which tails into a second half that is rather disappointing compared to the first. The guitar and no bass setup might possibly give this band individuality but also sets limitations. It never really takes off and gets a little boring. The lead guitar in the penultimate track ‘Song for Junko’ is annoying and you might find yourself impatiently waiting for it to finish.
The last track ‘O’ is really where this album could have taken off and given us an exhilarating ending. Sadly it’s slow and is a rather dreary ending to the journey. It’s not in any way a dynamic track and is a rather wasted opportunity to finish on a bang. Think watered down Sonic Youth.
Having sad that, as with all good psychedelic albums, you do feel like you have been on a trip when you have finished This particular trip is sometimes around a curious part of a universe nobody knew existed but also sometimes having a rest in a car park of a service station on the M4. An almost solid effort but needs more balls and it’s screaming out for the band to just let rip and get more chaotic, rather than staying so controlled. It’s frustrating because you can tell they have it in them, especially if you’ve ever seen them live. There is definitely substance to Ghost Mountain and I look forward to this band hopefully fully letting go one day.
Ghost Mountain is out 25th February on Invada Records.
Posted by Richard Collins.
