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Rugby, England. It's 1986, and an independent music scene is emerging with a group that, in the years to come, will change the fate of psychedelic music. They are Spacemen 3, but in reality, there are four of them, and essentially there are only two main thinkers in the band. Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, two art students with a passion for the Stooges and heroin, vintage guitars and 60s American psychedelia. In their debut album, Sound of Confusion, it's easy to find precise influences, such as the Stooges and the 13th Floor Elevators, with three covers out of seven tracks in the lineup.
You move from the guitar bacchanal of Losing Touch With My Mind, which opens the show on a cavernous bass line reminiscent of Bill Wyman’s dry and raw style, to Hey Man, where Pierce's monotone voice invokes a chorus that will be the prelude to Jason's love for gospel, which will cover a good part of the sound of future Spiritualized. Rollercoaster is the first homage to Roky Erickson and company, a guitar-driven ride where blues meets space rock with raga influences, a true hypnotic trip just like the version by the 13th Floor Elevators. Mary Anne is a track by the Juicy Lucy, an obscure sixties garage rock formation, and serves as a link between Rollercoaster and Little Doll, a hypnotic reinterpretation of the early Stooges. The erotic thrust of Iggy Pop's voice is missing, which here is worthily replaced by that of Pierce, but it still stands out for the direction our Astronauts will take in The Perfect Prescription and Playing With Fire, droning guitars on basic chords with a clear blues imprint. If 2:35 is a blues line much loved by Bo Diddley with heroin themes, O.D. Catastrophe is the first of a long series of minimal compositions (mainly found in the pen of Pete Kember) with an F major chord held for almost 8 minutes, reminiscent of the beloved Velvet Underground of White Light/White Heat, where the four boys from Rugby layer the sound by weaving feedback and obsessive rhythms, all seasoned with a healthy, pure, and quite risky passion for drugs.
A record that is not essential, meaning you can tell that here we are not yet at the level of the following two records, but it is an excellent start to the career of a band that surely deserved more success than unfortunately was granted to them.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Losing Touch With My Mind (05:33)
I'm losing, losing touch with my mind.
I'm falling, falling way behind.
I'm walking, down a one way street.
I'm trying, trying to find my feet.
I need it babe, it makes me feel alright.
I need it babe, it makes me feel alright, alright, alright.
I'm leaving, but I'm going no place.
I'm thinking, but my mind's in space.
I'm hoping, hoping to find my head.
I'm aiming, but I don't take the blame.
I need it babe, it makes me feel alright.
I need it babe, it makes me feel alright, alright, alright.
I'm shooting, shooting off my gun.
It's too bad now babe, but it's a lot of fun.
I'm living, like you'd like to live.
But I'm wanting you baby, what you have to give.
I need it babe, it makes me feel alright.
I need it babe, it makes me feel alright, alright, alright.
I feel alright (repeat x 7)
07 O.D. Catastrophe (08:53)
Do you see that kid
Down on his luck
Do you see that kid
Just spent his last buck
Well he got a O.D. catastrophe
He got a big O.D.
He got a O.D. catastrophe
Woah, yeah
Do you see that kid
Down on his back
Do you see that kid
Down on his back
Well he got a O.D. catastrophe
He got a big O.D.
He got a O.D. catastrophe
Woah, yeah
Well do you see that kid
Yeah I loved him so
Do you see that kid
Yeah I loved him so
Well he got a O.D. catastrophe
He got a big O.D.
He got a O.D. catastrophe
Woah, yeah
I said woah, yeah
I said woah, yeah
I said woah, yeah
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Other reviews
By Cervovolante
"Sound of Confusion" shines like a raw psychedelic diamond, catapulting the listener into a distorted journey through unexplored soundscapes.
It is not just an album, but a portal to an unexplored realm, an invitation to dance among the stars and the colors of psychedelic consciousness.
