Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound
Manzanita

It's one of those days so hot I start sweating just by blinking. I'm lying on the bed, with the room semi-dark and the sun trying to enter through the lowered blinds. I should be studying for my economics exam, but I'm not focused enough. I abandon the heavy economics book and put on some music. I take that CD I bought today blindly, attracted only by the surreal cover and the unpronounceable name of the band, Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound.

From the first notes, I realize I haven't wasted my money. “L.A. Sacrifice” is a burst of psychedelic rock, with the effected vocals and the organ that strongly evoke the seventies. I imagine California, the frothy waves of the ocean, the tall and straight palm trees. I imagine myself surfing all day down there, thinking of nothing else but having fun.

My mind wanders, I daydream while listening to the lengthy “Blue Wire”. I see myself on the spectacular cliffs of Big Sur, lying silently watching the sky, contemplating how wonderful life is without daily stress. And then comes “Sunshine”, one of the less psychedelic tracks on the album, which winks at the Led Zeppelin of the third album. I see the great skate parks of Venice Beach, full of graffiti and boys and girls flying with their wooden boards under their feet, illuminated by a fiery red ball slowly descending in front of them.

The sound changes abruptly in the dreamy “Slithery Thing”. It might be my favorite, with the melody that recalls Pearl Jam. And so there I am, with my bare feet sinking into the soft sand of San Diego, when the night has already fallen. I imagine joining a bonfire, laughing and drinking beer and playing music and having fun with strangers. When “The Flume” starts, I want to drop everything and leave now. Maybe with my two inseparable friends, for an excursion on the hills surrounding Los Angeles, then returning to the beach towards evening and jumping into the water to refresh. But all this is just fantasy, it's only my imagination wanting to break free, my unconscious wishing to take me far away. I listen to this wonderful album until the last note, “Manzanita”, which gifted me forty minutes of daydreaming.

Who knows, maybe one day it will come true, but in the meantime, I'll let the music of Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound keep making me dream.