GILA [AKA: FREE ELECTRIC SOUND]

Gila is sort of krautrock classic of the space rock & psychedelic jam band type. Slightly vague, druggy and lo-fi, it has everything to evoke that mysterious feeling of not being able to picture what you're actually listening to. The album has little avant-garde moments (except for that horrible crying baby) and because of its slow-paced jams it is kind of relaxing and accessible. I can see why people would name this a good entry for a beginners journey into krautrock. If you've enjoyed Pink Floyd's Meddle before you should do fine. The sound of those early organs reminds me of Arzachel, the first two Pink Floyd albums and VdGG's debut ('Octopus' comes to mind). The electric guitars are obviously inspired by David Gilmour, both clean and with fuzz. The band equips sound-effects and recordings to enhance the psychedelic vibe and the intro of 'Kontakt' gets quite dark before evolving into a rather pleasant ethnic folk krautrock piece. Non of the pieces are going anywhere and there's little melody to be found here, but basically a record like this is like an audio documentary of a time & vibe long gone. I think Gila's 'Free Electric Sound' is slightly less interesting (and well-produced) than for instance the first two Agitation Free albums - to which it holds most likeness. It has a charm of its own and the Second Battle vinyl reprints are well made and include a booklet and poster. I would give it 3,5 stars.