Is it 1968 again? You'll feel transported back in time to that pivotal era with the latest release from psychedelic rockers Purson, titled Desire's Magic Theatre. It's been three years since the debut The Circle & the Blue Door amazed fans & critics alike, and the British act are set to do the same with this latest release, which once again shows their love for vintage groups like The Jefferson Airplane, Black Sabbath, The Doors, Deep Purple, Comus, and Iron Butterfly.
Led by the gorgeous vocals and crunchy guitar riffs of Rosalie Cunningham, Purson weave all sorts of musical pleasures throughout Desire's Magic Theatre. The opening title track and "Dead Dodo Down" both bring forth images of not only the psychedelic San Francisco scene of the late '60s, but also the British pop of The Beatles and the early glam years of David Bowie & T-Rex, complete with swirling instrumentation and catchy, hypnotic vocals. "Electric Landlady" bursts with massive, Sabbath styled brontosaurus riffing, while heady saxophone adds a jazzy element to the intoxicating "Pedigree Chums". Silky Hammond organ & gentle piano permeate the lush, dreamy "The Sky Parade", one of the more prog based numbers here, and again another great vehicle for the majestic vocals of Cunningham. "The Window Cleaner" and "The Way It Is" are both pure '60s styled psych/pop, with quirky arrangements and charming vocal melodies that are instantly addicting, but it's not until "Mr Howard" that we see the beefier guitar riffs return, and it's only fleeting, again popping up briefly alongside some cool flute & keyboards on closer "The Bitter Suite", a very cool bluesy prog number that reminds of early Jethro Tull.
As good as Desire's Magic Theatre is, I'm pulling back my rating here slightly as I think the band could have kicked up the tempos a notch in spots. There's a real lack of killer guitar riffs on the album other than in a few spots, instead it seems that more emphasis was placed on laying down a dense wall of sound that relied more on keyboards, reeds, and horns. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it keeps this otherwise lush, textured album from being as powerful as it could have been. Good stuff nonetheless.
Track Listing
01 Desire's Magic Theatre
02 Electric Landlady
03 Dead Dodo Down
04 Pedigree Chums
05 The Sky Parade
06 The Window Cleaner
07 The Way It Is
08 Mr Howard
09 I Know
10 The Bitter Suite
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