The Aztec Mystic | fr

"The Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band" offers up an interesting mix of psych and what you'd call sunshine pop. I've seen a couple of reviews that compare the LP to The Yellow Balloon and the comparison' wasn't too far off, though Hoffman's affection for the sitar and Grass' production touches gave this a far more distinctive psych edge. Musically the collection was pretty much divided between the two genres, though Grass added interesting production touches to virtually every track - 'Early Dawn' shifted from great harmony rich pop to a weird phasing segment and then back again. At least to my...

The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight came together in 1996 as an instrumental side project led by guitarist Jimmy Bower and drummer Joe Lacaze of the New Orleans sludge metal group Eyehategod, along with members of Crowbar and Down. Bower and Lacaze's inspiration from the start was to get away from the pummelling nihilistic dirge metal of Eyehategod and use their new project as an outlet for the improvisational music that they had absorbed growing up in New Orleans, whether it be jazz, soul, funk, or rock. The Krewe's influences range from the Southern blues-rock of The Allman Brothers Band, native...