From the musical melting pot that is Baltimore, Maryland comes Bad Liquor Pond. Though described as a psychedelic rock outfit, their new album "Radiant Transmission" shows there is more to them than just a retro groove.
Some of the tracks do seem stuck in a sonic time warp, however. "Rabid Ashes" and "Sun Fingers" are good examples of this. Then again, when you expect them to go into a Strawberry Alarm Clock impersonation, they head off in the direction of shoegaze territory. Only they don't actually get there. Diverting themselves down a side road with the impressive "Pain Killer", echoing vocals swirl over what sounds like a dead slow version of "Louie Louie" before the guitars pile up on each other. The banjo that wanders about "She Came in Heavy" also highlights this band's ability to avoid the pitfalls of conformity and the rambling groove of "Prayer Song" actually sounds classy enough to find a place on a Robbie Robertson album.
Like so many independently produced albums, this one is superficially unimpressive. Another bunch of hippie shoegazers, you might well think, all power chords and reverb laden vocals. There is, fortunately, a lot more under the surface on this one and this is an album that rewards your attention (and it benefits from having the volume turned up as well!).
Available from MT6 Records.