LSD and the Search for God
LSD and the Search for God

LSD and the Search for God - self titled (2007 Mind Explosions)

From experience, there are two categories of people who, when finally about to name their band, include words like 'LSD' and, more generally, terms that evoke the imagery of drugs and synthetic substances: those who, behind such a cool name, must hide poor material; and on the other side, those truly aware of their talent, ready to challenge everything and everyone and dedicate their lives to going against the grain. Here, in this field, LSD and the Search for God have quite the knack, obviously fully foresighted in their choice of battle name.

‘Fairly unknown’ the Anglo-Saxons would say but, at the same time, very active on American stages, LSD and the Search for God present themselves as a perfect mixture, a channeling flux, a connecting link between the Californian psychedelic ‘old skool’ and the ‘stil novo’ of sometimes delirious, sometimes dreamy visions, inaugurated a good thirty years ago on the other side of the Atlantic by bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Spacemen 3 & co. The septet (5 men and 2 women) from San Francisco has released only one self-titled 5-track EP produced by Mind Explosion rcds in the year 2007. Unlike a good wine, however, this work does not need to 'age' chronologically (it's rumored that the band’s new work is imminently set for release this fall), nor to ‘mold' and 'gather dust' on a shelf between ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ and ‘White Light, White Heat'. It's fresh stuff, that from the first listen intoxicates and keeps the pace high, note after note.

Undoubtedly, you can tell a good day from the morning. ‘This time’ presents itself as a liberating and carefree song; to be clear, the perfect soundtrack post-graduation/university exam, the one you play in the car at full volume (with the window strictly down) while air-guitaring or drumming with friends. The initial riff certainly stands out, which despite its simplicity, whether for those little dissonances or the effects, leaves you simply amazed. Equally, the massive wall of sound, the bases, the very ABC of shoegaze itself, perfectly mastered by the band. And if there’s the wall of sound, of course, there can't be a lack of dreamy vocals that, however, are entirely absorbed by this blob of fuzz, delay and various reverberations, resulting almost imperceptible to the ear. Imposing and solid as a battleship, LSD thus opens a breach into the listener's eardrums. You move to the next track, ‘Backwards’, where the mood doesn’t change at all and the influence of the Irish My Bloody Valentine is substantial. The 4.19" of duration slip away like soap between your hands, with the usual sonic mixture plus some drone guitar, languid voices and the indestructible bass-drums rhythm section that doesn’t miss a beat. The next track, 'I don't care', is perhaps the most underwhelming piece. It strays too far from the path, sounding much like the younger, geekier cousin of 'Rock ‘n' Roll Starr' by the Gallagher brothers, also a pale copy of the first two. But it is here that the band redeems itself, stringing together two tiny jewels of inestimable beauty. ‘Starting over’ is surely the crown jewel of the EP. It invades Slowdive territory, with a guitar riff that yes recalls ‘Alison', but, without a doubt, is a myriad times more tear-jerking and dreamy. The rest is history. After just over fifteen minutes of listening, it all ends on the notes of ‘Starshine', probably the ‘lemon' (or what suits best as such) that clings with one hand to the better part of West Coast psychedelic tradition (now fifty years old), with its noticeably swinging drums but, at the same time, with the other hand, points out the road to follow in the future, all amplified by the usual guitar plays we are well familiar with and atmospheres compacting and dissembling in a fraction of a second.

Two considerations, then, must be made: first, despite the positive outcome, we need to wait a little longer before considering this record a milestone of the genre. On the other hand, staying active (and what activity indeed) for 7 years with only an EP released, is much more than admirable and simply worthy of praise. A well-deserved 4 out of 5, hoping, with the new release, to reach the much coveted 5.