When Easysleeves’ debut album opens with a strange transcendental meditation, it’s tempting to ask: “What the hell? Are these guys for real? Is this, like, 1966?” The answers to the last two are, fortunately, yes and yes. For 60-plus minutes, Easysleeves makes like The Beatles, The Zombies and everything in between. It’s oh-so-trippy, man.
The Details
And yet, like many great British albums of that era, Pangea also draws on American roots music (in this case, country) with several pedal-steel-based numbers and a Lou Reed/Moe Tucker-style duet called “Tryin’.”
My only complaints involve the album’s production and length. With so many instruments in play, singer Nick Caparso’s voice often gets muddied in the mix. Plus, while a “throwback” like myself might enjoy a good sitar jam, I’m not sure today’s ADD generation will feel quite as groovy.
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