The cover certainly gives little away. What is that strange, duct/ vent-like object that's depicted? Where does it come from and what does it all mean, basically?
Whisper it: the cover image IS a large ventilation shaft and it’s situated in the Mersey Tunnel, which makes sense when you delve a little deeper and discover that shape-shifting Poltergeist trio are Liverpudlians of some repute.
They actually need no introduction, for they are Will Sergeant, Les Pattinson and Nick Kilroe: to all intents and purposes The Bunnymen minus Mac and they come brandishing their all-instrumental debut ‘Your Mind Is A Box (Let Us Fill It With Wonder)’ through their own 92 Happy Customers imprint.
Eight wholly instrumental tracks lasting a challenging 56 minutes might seem a tad indulgent, but for those of with attention spans still capable of more than tweeting and text speak, there’s plenty to savour here. In fact, the epic, Spiritualized-style epic opening track ‘Cathedral’ alone serves notice that not only is Mac not missed, but that he’d be surplus to requirements here.
It’s seamless stuff from thereon in. Both ‘Dreamer Dreams Of Spectrums’ and the title track are fractured, psych-tinged journeys to the centre of the mind driven along by Sergeant’s quintessentially brittle guitar figures and Pattinson’s ceaselessly melodic basslines. Kilroe’s drumming impressive drumming is roughly equal parts Pete De Freitas passion and Jaki Leibezeit precision throughout and all three of ‘em bring it together beautifully on the 8-minute ‘First Signs Of The Plague’ with its initially plangent, dreamy feel taking in a few Moog-based twists before taking on a whole new acid-fried, ‘Nuggets’-style shape as it blasts off into the stratosphere.
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It’s a testament to the trio that they get the bliss’ n’ discipline balance exactly right throughout and nowhere more so than on the closing trio. Though it nuzzles up to the 10-minute mark, ‘The Book Of Pleasures’ never outstays its welcome, though it’s arguably bettered by ‘Dawn Visits The Garden Of Evil”s mesmeric, Can-like logic and finally ‘Lune Deeps’ with its vintage backwards masking, slow build and eventual psychedelic payload.
Poltergeist, then, are undoubtedly psonic pshape pshifters, but they re-arrange rock’s furniture with playfulness and verve rather than spite or malevolence. Open their box and see whatcha got. It’s unlikely you’ll be disappointed with the contents.
Poltergeist online
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