Galileo 7, The: Tear Your Minds Wide Open!

It is one thing to sound retro but it is quite another doing so in a convincingly fresh and exciting way. Such is a case with Galileo 7, another new discovery for me. The band formed in 2010, led by Allan Crockford who has been plowing his way in the UK’s underground music scene since the early ‘80s. Crockford has a long pedigree, involved in a number of bands including The Prisoners, Billy Childish’s The Headcoats, the James Taylor Quartet and The Solarflares.

The band has put out around nine CDs including their first for Damaged Good Records titled Tear Your Minds Wide Open!, originally released in 2017. In 2023 an expanded digipack edition was released featuring eight bonus tracks - primarily demos - along with the song “Grown Up,� which had previously only been available on a limited-edition CD.

The first track “Cold Hearted Stowaway� leads off with a barrage of guitar noise and buried vocals changing into a sublime example of psychedelic tinged pop rock, both endearing and catchy. The lead vocals of Crockford are extremely easy on the ears. Next is the mid-sixties inspired “One Lie At A Time� with its catchy guitar hooks and punchy organ. Again, the vocals are of earworm quality. The guitar led urgency of “Mystery Train�, the heavily organ drenched “Too Much Choice�, and the delicious vocal harmonies in “The Mask� are more excellent moments.

I can easily recommend Tear Your Minds Wide Open! to anyone remotely interested in sixties pop and/or melodic pop rock with an emphasis on catchy riffs and vocals. Looking forward to hearing more of what The Galileo 7 has to offer.

Track Listing:
1. Cold Hearted Stowaway
2. One Lie At A Time
3. Mystery Train
4. Too Much Choice
5. The Mask
6. Live For Yesterday
7. You Tear My Mind Wide Open
8. The God Of Gaps
9. The Habit Machine
10. Everything Keeps Coming Round Again
11. Your Face Tomorrow
12. Nobody Knows Anything
Bonus Tracks
13. The Girl In The Glass Case (Instrumental Edit) �" Previously unissued
14. You Tear My Mind Wide Open (Home Demo)
15. The Mask (Original Version)
16. Everything Keeps Coming Round Again (Home Demo)
17. The God Of Gaps (Band Demo)
18. One Lie At A Time (Band Demo)
19. Live For Yesterday (Home Demo)
20. Grown Up

Added: September 1st 2025
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 11
Language: english

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