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2. When Our Heroes Die
3. Spaceship Girl
4. I Sit in Silence
5. Madman and Genius
6. Surrounded by Roses
7. Spaghetti for My Yeti
8. Willy Wonka of the Vinyl World
Folk Rock / Progressive/ Experimental, Viaduct Records
I knew These Curious Toughts for a long time, especially the excellent and charismatic lyricist Jim Radford. If you do not know the group, you are losing time and need to listen to now! These guys blend folk rock with psychedelic music and lots of prog rock in a very pleasant way. Everything in a very delicious and intense music, influenced by a large range of genres, since krautrock to acid rock.
In its more seven-minute length, the song Xrays of the Imagination shows us a curious (?) mix between 70s folk rock and something of acid rock, changing constantly the rhythms, reminding me the good aspects of Pain of Salvation. Going into a post-punk tune, When Our Heroes Die is a very melancholic and introspective song, with a David Bowie’s flavor and a change in the middle, introducing a complex funk bass line, homeaging the master James Brown. The next track (and my favorite one) is Spaceship Girl, because it incorporates a complex blend of krautrock, jazz and art rock. I Sit in Silence brings back the introspection, with influences like Pink Floyd and R.E.M.
With a beautiful acoustic intro, Madman and Genius is a very remarkable song, with a strong neofolk melody, as in the earlier recordings. With a good dose of 70s psychedelia and jazz, Surrounded by Roses is na excelente track, extremely creative as Steven Wilson in the first solo works. Spaghetti for My Yeti is a new wave song, influenced by New Order and other groups. Closing this album. Willy Wonka of the Vinyl World is the most “normal” (where it is possible) song, where we can feel a Marillion and the British prog rock tunes.
It is a good recording, and it becomes better if you can read carefully the lyrics. Jim wrote them with a lot of non-sense mood, with excellent ideas in a tribute to the 70s psych rock. You must listen to Xrays of Imagination NOW!