Reviews
'Eye Am the Sky' starts with two minutes of slow-building, with a faint hum coming from the speakers that gradually gets louder, until two minutes in a bassline emerges, shortly followed by an effects laden two-note guitar riff. More building follows until the guitar finally takes off, helped by the drummer, who by the end of the song is pounding like an animal, as the guitars explode and the final chord resonates out into the ether.
This leads into 'Marshmallow Express', which carries a similar bass line, but takes the guitars off into a funkier territory that John Squire of the Stone Roses would later explore on their ill-fated second album. There are flashes of Hendrix wah-wah and histrionics, but a disinterested vocal dampens the euphoria every time the lyrics come in, and only really displays any passion in the last sixty seconds.
'Mr Phantasy' begins with simulated wave noises, and then kicks in with a grungy guitar riff that captures both the jangle of the indie C86 bands and the tight-punky sound of mod bands like the Jam. The end of the track links directly into 'Mirrors', which as the title suggests, features echoes of the previous song chiming throughout. The psychedelia suggested by the band name takes centre stage here, with swirling guitars that suggest a whirlpool (hence the album title) and are not unlike some of the noises made by Slowdive early in their career.
'When Push Comes To Shove' keeps the effects-laden guitar that has been present throughout, but this time there are hooks in the chorus that could have been lifted from the Police's greatest hits album! The result is an extremely catchy tune that proves Dr Phibes are not just about psychedelia.
'Dovetail' begins with a droning vocal, and then kicks in with a heavier sound that is similar to 'In Utero'-period Nirvana guitar experimentation, giving it an improvisational feel.
'Dreaming' follows, and contains a lyric and vocal that could have sat on any Gang of Four album (if they'd been into psychedelia rather than R&B), and is another chance to hear the Phibes equation put to effectively catchy use, with the first three minutes easily worthy of a single release. This trails off into 'Insomnia', featuring a guitar solo that manages to avoid becoming cringeworthy, and features a sound similar to that used by modern psychedelic rock bands such as Ozric Tentacles.
Nearing the end of the album, 'Sugar Blast' takes on angular rhythms and effortlessly grabs your attention with a mix of staccato guitars and a Pink Floyd-esque fade-out that could make you feel decidedly uneasy if you were in the wrong mental state (bringing the whirlpool of the title back into view).
Ending with a reprise of 'Eye Am the Sky', this album would appear on the surface to rely heavily on the theme of psychedelic drug use, with all the sudden rushes and come-downs involved. It is nonetheless a great reminder that there was a time when the independent music scene included people who sounded like they had never owned a Beatles record.