PEEL, PALMER, TAUSIG & GOULD – SYNESTHESIA – FRUITS DE MER

The way Icarus Peel (guitars) describes it, is that he was having a lovely dinner with his old friend Steve Palmer (soundscapes) and by the time they got to the cheese course they had decided they would create a new musical project containing four 10-minute-long instrumentals. It was only a matter of time until Jay Tausig (drums) and Rob Gould (keyboards) were persuaded to donate their time, talents and names to the project which they have described as being like a lost Harvest album from the Seventies, or possibly it is reminiscent of Gong or Barclay James Harvest. The band themselves say they may have been influences by Tangerine Dream, Burnin’ Red Ivanhoe, The Damned, Steve Hillage, Jeff Beck, Krautrock, Canterbury Rock, Vertigo, Vegetarianism, Arthur Koestler and Gustav Klimt (although not all at the same time). I was intrigued to note that as well as a writer and a painter they have referenced an obscure (at least to me) Danish band who were formed nearly 60 years ago!

There is no doubt this is very much an album of its time, with classic keyboards, lovely distorted and double-tracked guitar, a drummer who is happily all over the place, and a deep understanding that the Sixties didn’t end when most people thought they did, but instead they are still very much in existence in the minds of bands like this. Gong are very much in the ascendance here, along with early Pink Floyd, while Tangerine Dream and Keith Emerson should also be noted and there is definitely a Hillage feeling as well, which makes this a very attractive proposition for those who enjoy classic prog with large swathes of psychedelia. One can only hope that this is not a solitary excursion for those involved and that we have them back again soon for the next instalment. 8/10

By Kev Rowland