“Breeze†is the opening song on “Shall Noise Upon.†It’s a light, airy, wafer-thin crisp that fades a soon as it begins, leaving little behind. It’s followed by “Singing to the Earth (To Thank Her For You),†which sounds exactly like its title. It could have been on the Hair Soundtrack. Another tune, “Fog and Shadow,†may be the first psychedelic country song I’ve heard. It sounds like a Hank Williams 45 played at 33 1/3 RPM. For those who don’t know, that refers to record speeds. Records were these black, plastic discs that looked kind of like big CDs. Folks listened to them all the time in the 1960s.
And speaking of the 1960s, no review of Los Angeles’ Apollo Sunshine can be complete without reference to that decade, and the early 1970s, because there’s few bands as unashamedly hippie-retro as this one. Following up their 2005 self-titled debut, “Shall Noise Upon†(to be released on September 2nd), features Byrdsy rock (“666: The Coming of the New World Governmentâ€); prog-rock psychedelia (“Green Green Lawns of Outer Spaceâ€); idealistic folk (“Moneyâ€); atmospheric instrumentals (“Shall Noise Upon;†“Happinessâ€); samba (“Honestlyâ€) and even Moby Grape/Steppenwolf blues (“The Funky Chamberlain;†“The Mermaid Angelineâ€). There’s something for every Easy Rider on what sounds like a mixtape from your dad’s old vinyl, only with much better production quality.
Man, this is a radical ride that breaks from society’s rules and conventions, and totally blasts you into a 5th dimension, dude. But don’t take my word for it, I’m over 30.
