PLASTIC JESUS AND THE THIRD EYE BLIND

Earthling Society's fusion of 1990s grunge and intergalactic flare is a rather coherent affair despite their emphasis on effects pedals and processors. Meld Eloy with Godsmack and put them a few parsecs from Earth and there you are.

"Council House Mystics" Semi-Eastern influences drive this moderately-paced song.

"Kosmik Suite No.1" Spacey wah pedaling and topsy-turvy bass funk make for a groovy experience before transforming into a pulsating organism. The final movement features all instruments firing on all cylinders.

"Plastic Jesus" An interlude of distant guitar and distorted spoken word takes shape here.

"Psychick Sunday" Reserved percussion and a steady bass line prance around a faint whining tone, while the second part is a phantasmal Vocodor sequence.

"Girls Talk" For a change of pace, Earthling Society offers a light, disco rock number, complete with tonally thin organ and electric guitar solos.

"Kosmik Suite No.2" The first movement of tidal calmness gets washed away by an energetic jam. This time, I am reminded of Eloy for the obscured vocals, spiraling synthesizer, and the sense of spacey urgency. The suite fades away into a cosmic dust storm before a final passage of psych-rock simplicity.

"Outsideofintime" A live performance captured in 2005 opens with a drenched guitar signal, steady rhythm, and indistinct vocals. The quality of the recording itself is not good, but its low-fi natures serves the performance positively, becoming an "effect" in its own right.