Obscured By Clouds - Psycheclectic

by Andrew Carver

published: 25 / 11 / 2008

Label: In Music We Trust
Format: CD

Sincere-sounding second album from Pink Floyd-obsessed Portland, Oregon-based band Obscured By Clouds, who nevertheless manage to avoid complete outright imitation of their mentors

Review

Exhibit A: Obscured by Clouds are named after an album by Pink Floyd. Exhibit B: Obscured by Clouds' ‘Psycheclectic' opens with the heartbeat thump so well known to admirers of Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ Exhibit C: The third track, ‘Cast Close The Gates’ ends with a similar trick (It sounded good the first time, so why not again ?). Exhibit D: So does the fourth, ‘Love’s Love’. Exhibit E: And then there’s the end to ‘Consider This A Message’ ... well, you get the point. I think it’s fair to say that we find the defendant guilty, your honour, of being big fans of Pink Floyd. Fortunately the Oregon outfit avoids the sort of outright imitation that might generate incessant teasing, and the superb production of ‘Psycheclectic’ reveals a lot of capable musicianship. The band seems adept at shifting between the acoustic subtleties of opener ‘Soft Cheeked and Worried’ as the crunchier guitar of ‘Cast Close’. Mainman William Weikart’s forceful vocals aren’t too shabby either. The band’s Floyd fanaticism carries on through the lyrics, with the stomping ‘Zoe Zoloft’ bearing an appropriately druggy theme. The submerged female vocals that pop up in it (and other songs) can be a trifle annoying, but at least they don’t ask if you’d like to take a bath – that would be going too far. Unfortunately, it is also a bit heavy-handed, and misses the queasy dreaminess of Floyd songs like ‘Goodbye Blue Sky’. At root, ‘Psycheclectic’ is a sincere act of worship and a polished update of the psychedelic prog rock of the early 1970's that fans of the era might want to check out a few tasters ... whether they’re then inspired to pick up a copy or just stick some Floyd on or in the music-playing device of their choice is up to them. (Exhibit F. Track eight, ‘The Drip Feed’ ... thathump ... thathump ... thathump).