ADVENTURES UNDER BLACKLIGHT

Nobody should claim that the German psych/space scene is lacking of new talents. SCARLET UTOPIA now have the debut 'Adventures Under Black Light' out - after some delay due to an accident of drummer Peter. This ensemble is a spin-off by musicians with indie rock roots hailing from the Cologne/Düsseldorf area. But this time space rock is the name of the game! The band members are credited with aliases, track titles and lyrics are genre typical. Only the cover art differs - futuristic yes, but minimalistic too, because showing some experiments with letters instead of usual sci-fi images.

The album holds four songs basically - all around 10 minutes long. The short Prüfung Der Lautsprecherpolung is not more than a funny gimmick though - delivering an introduction in German in order to justify your hi-fi system. The other tracks are straightforward space rocking more or less provided with a groovy fundament by bass and drums, slicing and riffing guitar plus a unique female singer. Black Sun holds a repetitive hypnotic fundament - reflecting the feelings of a person who had one trip too much. Scarlet Rose O'Silver's voice surprisingly reminds me of Brian Molko - really puzzling. And we have a soaring guitar again and again. This is suitable for rocking the crowd during their live performances I'm quite sure. Finally the longest track is closed by a weird krautrock tinged intermezzo.

Robotic voice samples are opening the next one NGC 1365 Spiral Galaxy - maybe you can call this tune a space blues. Song structure and lyrics are definetely animating for singing along. This is trippy and catchy. Well done - melodic and an excellent bass work is coming to the fore here as for my impression. This album was released forty years after the first landing on the moon - an issue featured on the track Omega Space Walk which is provided with a heavier rocking vibe. This song is sometimes interrupted when floating trippy parts are headed by voice samples. Last one Moonlight Society appears more garage/stoner rock coloured, with another catchy refrain but not that tricky in the whole compared to the predecessors.

'Adventures Under Black Light' is made up with excellent sound quality where Jean d'Auberlaque's varied guitar work impresses most. The album is made up with a vinyl length of fourty minutes ... when listening to the song 'Supernovae' on myspace I wonder why it has not found a place on the production. Never mind - this is a good and contemporary debut provided with a unique flavour. Don't know yet if anything will follow sooner or later - I would be pleased at least ... 3.5 stars.