Haight-Ashbury - Haight-Ashbury 2: The Ashburys

by Malcolm Carter

published: 17 / 3 / 2012

Haight-Ashbury - Haight-Ashbury 2: The Ashburys

Label: Lime Records
Format: CD

Stunning second album from Glaswegian psychedelic folk trio Haight-Ashbury,which takes the darker sound of sixties California and makes it sound refreshingly new

Review

Glaswegian trio Haight-Ashbury received a lot of praise for their debut album, ‘Here in the Golden Rays’, which was released in 2010. Since then the band have built up quite a following; their take on mid to late sixties West Coast psychedelia hit the spot for many so great things were expected from ‘Haight-Ashbury 2: The Ashburys’, the band's second album. It all starts off brilliantly. Opening track ‘Maasricht (a Treaty)’ has the angelic vocals of bassist Kirsty and drummer Jen drenched in sitar and instantly transports the listener back to the sixties. There’s a haunting quality to the song that lifts it from a mere pastiche though. It’s obvious that the trio have a passion and understanding of the music from this era. Not for the last time on ‘The Ashburys’ there’s an underlying feel of menace creeping out from under those heavenly vocals that gives the song a contemporary edge. It’s a perfect opener and sets out Haight-Ashbury's stall very nicely. ‘Sophomore’ follows which has rightly been chosen as the trio’s new single. Try and imagine the Mamas & The Papas backed by Glasvegas, but with the glorious melody floating on top and not buried in the mix. It’s around this point on the album that you begin to realise that not only can this trio make one hell of a melodic noise between them, that they are not only blessed with two outstanding female vocalists who were obviously born to sing together, but in Scott, who handles all the instruments except the bass and drums, they have an outstanding musician who effortlessly takes the darker sound of sixties California and makes it sound refreshingly new. ‘Everything is Possible’ mixes chiming guitars, those angelic vocals and has the cocky swagger of some of the Shangri-La's classic 45s running through it before reminding you that whoever dubbed the trio “the new psychedelic Abba” was far off the mark, here they sound like a psychedelic First Aid Kit which is much more appealing and makes more sense. There have been so many reissues of obscure psychedelic-folk albums over the last few years that should have remained lost, Very few actually lived up to the classic status that they acquired over the years, and there have been just as many new bands trying to recapture that sound but none have done so as successfully as Haight-Ashbury. It’s by taking elements, not just from the sixties but also from almost every decade of popular music, and moulding them into something new that makes Haight-Ashbury succeed. ‘2nd Hand Rose’ takes Phil Spector on a roller coaster ride with the Jesus and Mary Chain and the girls from Heaven & Earth up front. It’s this menacing beauty that keeps you coming back for more. Hopefully Scott will bring out the sitar a little more on future albums. There’s something about the combination of the female vocals and the sitar that makes the tracks featuring both stand out here as highlights, even if the titles ('Dum Dee Dum') do recall Abba! ‘She’s So Groovy 86’, is a dreamy diversion; you get the impression that the Bangles were reaching for this sound but never quite achieved it. Again it combines elements of all the last five decades of music and still comes out sounding contemporary. The piano ballad that closes the album, ‘Love, Haight & Ashbury’, is simply perfect. Shorn of any psychedelic touches the trio show that they are far from a one trick pony. The vocals are stunning and the melody stays with you long after the song finishes. It’s an unexpected but brilliant way to close the album. The trio is going to win over even more people with this album; that they are passionate about the music they make is so obvious in every word they sing and every note they play. They deserve all the acclaim that’s going to be coming their way.

Track Listing:-

1 Masstricht (A Treaty)
2 Sophomore
3 Everything Is Possible
4 2nd Hand Rose
5 Ta Wit Ta Woo
6 Freelove
7 Dum Dee Dum
8 She's So Groovy '86
9 Moondogs
10 Hole in the Ground
11 Buffalo Trace
12 Love, Haight & Ashbury