THE VIEWING POINT

It is beyond me that this spectacular group from the UK isn´t getting more attention than they have. I mean these guys can play - and together to boot. With a love for old school mellotron n´ organ tapestries - and a certain garage feel to the guitars and rhythm section(The Sonics or early Pretty Things low fi production springs to mind), The Future Kings of England happen to stumble on two of my long loved things in music: the Chill and the Raw.

In waiting for their new album, I thought I might drop a few words on The Viewing Point, which was released in 2009. You could easily be fooled though, as the record sounds like it was made in the 70s. There´s been a huge amount of records released lately which tries to go back in time - fiddle with analog equipment, mic placement, live recording tracks and so forth, -and to tell you the truth: I love it. I don´t think the sounds created after the 80s and especially in the 90s brought anything new to the table - nothing that didn´t sound better a decade before. Well as long as the bands are making their own music - fishing for their own tunes in their own little oceans...

If you´re into Floyd ca 1970-71 - I promise you will love this album. It´s not that they copy or anything of that sort of nature, but more in the vein of elaborating on textures once uttered in swinging London. I guess it´s the guitars that, much like Gilmour, plays very slowly and soulful - treating the sounds as if they were both rhythm and solo together. I don´t know who is taking care of the lead licks here, but man he´s got some soul power and does have his own sound. More coarse and raspy at the edges, and if even possible slower than Gilmour.

Nearly every song here has some sort of melody filled moment, where the guitars works as a non verbal chorus. Just as well, because unlike their previous record who had sparse singing on it, this one is all instrumental. And speaking of the guitars - I sense a psychedelic post-rock approach in the underlying riffing, that, blended together with the other instruments - forms into something like those small ferocious mini-twisters that sends leaves twirling into the air like flying pyramids of nature´s own debris.

One of my favorite cuts on this album is "Sea Saw" that starts out with piano and some subdued guitar strumming - it builds and builds - and suddenly turns into this very emotional piece that sounds like one of the musicians is playing a saw with a violin bow, - and as Mellotron Storm says in his review - this song does not sound like TFKOE - except for the ending, where the guitars is back melting lava in your ears. Speaking of lava - the best melting rock you get from The Viewing Point is "Time flies like an Arrow". This number intertwine all the key aspects of the album: the slow sluggishly played drums - still keeping the beat though( and I love that shit - seems every other new prog drummer needs a brain in each extremity to maximize their poly rhythms, instead of pure feel), swaying ethereal guitar patterns, mellotron like sea-breezes and a walking bas thumbing away - tying things together down in the soil.

This is not their best album, but it sure made me smile outside in the rain not long ago. Felt like the waves of rain tuned into the music and started bombarding me to the rhythm, reminding me of the organic texture there is to these guys - everything seems to flow so effortlessly, much like a river. You can´t beat nature, but you can certainly accentuate and amplify the bugger.

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