Assemble Head - When Sweet Sleep Returns
Well, so far it’s been an outstanding year for fans of fuzzy, warm, psychedelic Americana (and you can very much count us in amongst that demographic). So far we’ve had outstanding offerings from Sleepy Sun and Arbouretum and now Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound have banged out an album of astounding quality.
It’s two years since Assemble Head came out of nowhere to soundtrack our summer with their ‘Ekranoplan’ album, one of my records of the year for 2007, and they’ve used the intervening time wisely. ‘When Sweet Sleep Returned’ is a real progression from that first record, it’s tighter and more focused but without losing that loose California feel, if that makes any sense!
They’ve added a couple of members to the band, synth and Theremin player Anderson Lanbridge and multi-instrumentalist Camilla Saufley, and it shows in the fuller sound, Sleepy Sun members Brett Constatino and Evan Reese also pop up to add vocal harmonies on the magnificently sprawling and epic ‘Two Birds’, probably the stand out moment of the record.
What is really apparent on this record is that the band have learnt restraint. Previous tendencies to jam off down blind alleys has been reigned in and whilst the band still explore progressive territory it now feels like they’ve got a map and they know where they’re going and always come back to somewhere you recognise.
The fourth track, ‘Drunken Leaves’, is a perfect example of this as they chug along with a killer rhythm riff the lead guitar goes way off track but always returns to the songs core.
Another area they have improved massively is the vocals, on ‘Ekranoplan’ the vocals often felt like a bit of an afterthought, tacked on because they felt they ought to, but here they feel very much an integral part of the music with surprising harmonies and plenty of echoey chorus for that proper psychedelic feel.
Alongside ‘Two Birds’, ‘Kolob Canyon’ stands out. A kind of turbo charged Byrds number, it powers along with a beautiful harmonised vocal and Theremin backing giving it quite a haunting feel.
Mostly though, the record is about sunshine, moonshine and good times, dusty roads and wide open skies. It grooves and it jams and it just generally really enjoys itself. The weathermen have predicted a long, hot summer this year. If that turns out to be the case then this is the perfect record to accompany it.
Top tracks: 'Two Birds', 'Kolob Canyon'.
Released April 13 on Tee Pee Records