LET THEM EAT CAKE

Yet another stylistic shift with the ever-adventurous musical trio, their eighth studio album release--here trying to imitate many of the late 1960s' psych rock masters.

1. "The Other Fool" (5:40) excellent BEATLES-like song with key orchestral components. (9/10)

2. "Upstairs-Downstairs" (5:12) horns with lazily-strummed acoustic guitars open this one with a long (110-second) intro. When the vocals arrive (really far forward in the mix), I'm quite reminded of the music of COLIN MOULDING and ANDY PARTRIDGE (XTC). (8.875/10)

3. "Big Surprise" (3:36) cute little BEACH BOYS-like song about a breakup. Builds into full band at the one-minute mark with a little more added at the two-minute mark before slowly deconstructing for the final 45 seconds. (8.66667/10)

4. "Walkin' with J." (3:59) horns and meaty opening gives the song a bit of a HENDRIX (bass line)/DENNY LAINE-WINGS combo feel. Great, fun chorus. (8.75/10)

5. "Never Let You Out" (2:46) quirky like a late 1960s Brit psych pop song (not quite The Beatles; more like The Buggles). I very much like the instrumental palette. (8.75/10)

6. "Whip That Ghost (Song for a Bro')" (6:30) shades of future Motorpsycho: a nice instrumental jam song overtly styled after the famous Allman Brothers song "Whipping Post" with a very enjoyable ALLMAN BROTHERS-like guitar sound and style. (8.75/10)

7. "Stained Glass" (6:12) though definitely having a familiar sound and feel to it, I cannot pick up the band or song that this might be imitating (perhaps John Martyn, Richard Thompson, or more Allman Brothers), but it turns out that it accomplishes much as a lovely, delicate little rural folk rock song. (8.875/10)

8. "My Best Friend" (4:21) a nice song on the mellower side of Indie-Folk Rock that sounds kind of like a cross between Scotland's STEALERS WHEEL and THE ALLMAN BROTHERS. I like the calm, almost soporific vocal performance as well as the blues-rock piano beneath it all. (8.75/10)

9. "30/30" (7:21) this one sounds quite a bit like something RADIOHEAD might do with its very creative use of orchestral instruments and synths to create the rather-chamber/classically arranged musical tapestry. (13.375/15)

Total Time: 45:37

Great sound recording and engineering certainly help these mostly-imitative songs please the listeners' ears. Innocuous and pleasant if not presenting anything too ground-breaking.

B/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.