Yet another well done album from this New Jersey psychedelic band. The band blends jangle and crunch in equal amounts, with Kurt Reil's powerful drumming, Kristin Pinnell's sharp lead guitar playing and the wonderful harmonies remaining a constant. At first blush, this record seems just a bit heavier than the last couple of Grip Weeds records, or maybe I should say that this is a bit more intense. Even an acoustic number like "Give Me Some of Your Ways" seems to have an edge underlying it. This, by the way, is a great track that has a bit of a late ‘60s Fleetwood Mac vibe. The one wholly light moment has to be the
Beatle-ish "Sight Unseen", a smile inducer if there ever was one. Of course, you can spot a few Move influences on the album -- heck, the rhythm guitar part that begins the song "Astral Man" is a Roy Wood special. And Pinnell gets her standard fine vocal turn, on the dramatic "Closer to Love" -- quite frankly, she probably deserves more than one lead vocal an album, as she has a nice, clear folk rock voice that is perfect for this band's sound. Finally, the band shows that they can still make songs that are
inviting and haunting at the same time, such as "Once Again" which is trippy without being hippy, as these folks are too rocking. In the end, this is simply a representative Grip Weeds release. They have mastered their sound and staked out a unique piece of turf. If you are a psych-pop fan who likes the psych to be a bit stronger than the pop, you should give this a whirl. rainbowquartz.com -- Mike Bennett