SATURNIA-Hydrophonic Gardening
Second album from the only psychedelic band I know to emanate from Portugal, and over fifty one minutes and seven tracks they've created something that, although needing about three or four plays to get into, is the sort of album that will endear itself to you, providing that you are the sort of person that likes predominantly instrumental, synths/keyboards/guitars-dominated psych albums that occupy a place very much in the field of late sixties/early seventies psych-space-prog, with definite nods to early Pink Floyd, some of
the more "far-out maaaannn" Krautrock bands but with a more synths-oriented sound like that of Tonto or cosmic Gong, even Edgar Froese-style mellotrons being the main lead in 'Planetarium'. The chunkier rhythms and miles of space synths is on 'Vimana' is about as heavy as it gets and the overall feel of the album is one of cosmic bliss in a psych-rock setting that is more atmospheric than rock, but always travels, never drifts, always substantial but more of a musical canvas that anything overtly melodic, in many ways a similar sort of feel, although not exactly sound, to '69-era Floyd. Overall, it's no classic, but it's certainly not disposable either, and one I will put
on as mood music more than concentrated listening, but play it I will.
cd services mail order 12/2002 Andy Garibaldi
