The Spacious Mind - The No. 4 Or 5 Gravy Band

Essence Music

Oh joy! Soon after the compilation CD The Drifter put out last year by Trail Records in the U.S. there is a new studio LP by one of my favourites The Spacious Mind. These psych/spacerock/acid folk freaks from the remote Northern forests of Sweden have been pushing their own brand of euphoric, mind-melting psychedelia to the man since the early 90s. If you count also all the limited live etc. editions, The No. 4 Or 5 Gravy Band is actually already the 15th album by the band, and that's not counting the 10" or the compilation CD. The album will be released as three very limited editions on LP only (at least at the moment). The special edition is limited to just 99 copies and comes with a bonus disc, hand-made cover etc. so that's definitely the one to get if you can afford it. The black and white vinyl editions are both limited to 100 copies and reasonably priced.

So, what do we get this time? TSM are famous for long tracks, and the tendency continues. There are two tracks on side A and just one on B. The dreamy, beutiful 13-minute title track "The Cinnamon Tree" begins our journey. And what a journey it is! I get some early 70s Pink Floyd vibes at the beginning. The tranquil, druggy vocals join in somewhere before the five-minute-marker. The track speeds up and gets a bit more intense during the five last minutes with added percussion, more guitar etc. but still stays rather laid-back and spacey. I also love the melancholic, folky melody at the end, amazing! "You Don't Know It But You Are" presents the band in their more experimental mode with all kinds of percussive kling-klang and weird sounds finished with an ambient drone. You need to be "in the zone" to really appreciate this I guess. Play it load and see where it takes you! On the B side, "Creekin' At The Goose" explodes into heavy, cacophonic maelstorm right away. Before two minutes have passed things cool down a bit and a slow beat begins. Drums, keyboards, bass and electric guitars create a hypnotic, trippy web of sound that just sucks you in. You feel your mind melting, little by little, but you just couldn't be happier about it... The fuzz guitar solo is perfect for the mood. This goes on for several minutes and it is unsure if your friends will recognize you anymore... After ten minutes the track finally gets faster and groovier and starts to really rock out. You have arrived into a totally different, strange and wonderful universe and that's exactly the point of this kind of music. To take you to places you couldn't possibly reach without the sonic assistance. The Spacious Mind still is one of the best tickets for this kind of ride. Try it!

myspace.com/thespaciousmind