JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EYE

NEKTAR's debut album contains few of the qualities that makes the band's later work memorable.

Modelled closely on the first two PINK FLOYD albums, 'Journey to the Centre of the Eye' is a psyched-out trippy album that leans too heavily on the freak-out and not nearly enough on the songwriting. Large sections of the album feature progressionless noodling, with jarring transitions to guitar and organ-laden passages. My impression is that NEKTAR had very little to say, but packaged it in the manner of the times regardless.

The Krautrock influence is strong in places, undermining their British melodic sensibilities and leaving the music to fall between two stools. There are some pleasant and even dynamic sections, including 'Countenance', 'It's All in the Mind' and the standout 'Burn Out My Eyes' (if only it had all been like this), but no real cohesiveness or musical progression in what purports to be a concept album. There are some who love this record, but for the reasons stated above I'm not one of them. Simply put, the band was not able to fulfil their ambitious ideas. That would have to wait until their much better second album.

Handle with care unless you're a hard-core psychedelica fan.