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Banging Colours — Hallucinogenic Treasures from the Convolution of an Imaginative Brain
(Bandcamp no#, 2020, 2CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2021-04-29

Hallucinogenic Treasures from the Convolution of an Imaginative Brain Cover art

When XTC disguised themselves as The Dukes of Stratosphear and recorded a couple albums’ worth of throwback psychedelia, many listeners were amazed at how well they nailed the style. They had a lot of fun with some of the trappings of the 60s as well, inventing humorous names for themselves. Banging Colours is a similar project, with its inspiration resting solidly on early Pink Floyd, imagining a band that could have existed as contemporaries of Syd Barrett and company, even going so far as to mock up an elaborate narrative about the band’s history. I don’t know for sure who the actual musicians are, though I have some suspicions, and for now I’m content to just enjoy the music without too much questioning. As I said, Barrett-era Floyd is the basic idea, so there are some poppy psych gems like “The Love and Fun Brigade” and “Primrose Hill” and also some trippy extended jams that take after “Interstellar Overdrive.” These latter also have some of the flavor of early Krautrock improvisations. One of the really fun aspects of Banging Colours is the use of violin as a second melodic instrument, often with wah-wah and other effects. As far as the technology, all sounds appear to be period-appropriate, with some tasty bits of Mellotron along with electric piano and organ. The one thing that’s not vintage is the recording quality — modern remixing and remastering are unlikely to make actual 60s recordings, especially demos as some of these are supposed to be, sound this good. So just imagine yourself in a cavernous performance space in London in 1968, consciousness altered by your substance of choice, catching a creative troupe of colorful misfits on a stage bathed in elaborate visuals, surrounded by the grooviest crowd of music lovers ever assembled, and let the Colours bang your brain into another state of existence.

Filed under: New releases, 2020 releases

Related artist(s): Banging Colours

More info
http://bangingcolours.bandcamp.com/

 

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