Future Clouds & Radar

Peoria

(Star Apple Kingdom)

Record Review by Marcel Feldmar

Starting out with a slow pop groove, Robert Harrison’s Future Clouds & Radar strikes a balance between psychedelic and indie, and holds that balance nicely throughout the album. The vocals moving somewhere within the same realm, it seems, as Dave Shouse (Those Bastard Souls) and Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), though much smoother and slightly more surreal. Like there’s been a whole lot of Syd Barrett listening going on.

There’s some drifting and slow numbers, and then some kinda upbeat grooves, like “Feet on Grass”, which hits like the Electric Light Orchestra on a carnival ride.

Sometimes it feels like the band starts to move into a trippy Beatles vibe, updating the more drug-induced side of 60’s pop. Capturing what could have been a Magical Mystery Tour outtake and pushing it more into Robyn Hitchcock territory.

Then there’s “Eighteen Months” which pulses out and puts a little smile on my face as it makes a move towards a garage-distorted rager. A guitar happy tune that brings out maybe a touch of the 13th floor elevators but with a nice riff that hits like MC5 light.

Moving across similar genres but creating different dynamics, Future Clouds & Radar manage to create a cohesive album that will keep you listening until the end.