After a series of EPs and splits, Finnish psychedelic/occult act Jess and the Ancient Ones are back with their third official release, the full length (but only 31 minutes) album The Horse and Other Weird Tales for Svart Records. Again bringing to mind cherished acts such as The Jefferson Airplane, Deep Purple, The Doors, and a touch of Black Sabbath, this latest release takes their groovy '60s influence one step further, as the pop hooks and the sultry vocals of Jess are even more accessible this time around. "You and Your Eyes" is part R&B, part psychedelic rock, the floating keyboards and bluesy guitar riffs percolating around Jess' fabulous vocals, while acrobatic organ drives hard rockers "Return to Hallucinate" and "(Here Comes) The Rainbow Mouth". The brooding, near 8-minute "Anyway the Minds Flow" provides the albums doom outlet, a nightmarish journey that relies more on Jess' chilling vocals and washes of dramatic keyboards than fuzz toned guitar riffs, but the effect is the same. Much of the album takes this approach actually, as this is not a 'guitar heavy' album at all, with Thomas Corpse creating more textures than mountains of riffs, tracks like "Death Is the Doors" and "Shining" more of a vehicle for vocals, Abrahammond's atmospheric keyboards, and the heavy grooves from bassist Fast Jake and drummer Jussuf than an excuse for dramatic, guitar dominated rock.
Despite the lack of guitar firepower, The Horse and Other Weird Tales still has a somewhat 'heavy' feel to it, the fun, psychedelic grooves permeating through every last crevice of this album as if it came out of a time machine circa 1968. And, what more can we say about Jess herself? The woman is a major vocal talent, with a soulful, powerful style that's not unlike the great Beth Hart, and she's completely in her element here. Jess and the Ancient Ones are an underground band who have the potential for breakout success...check it out.
Track Listing
1) Death Is The Doors 3:33
2) Shining 3:16
3) Your Exploding Heads 2:14
4) You And Eyes 7:02
5) Radio Aquarius 1:55
6) Return to Hallucinate 2:29
7) (Here Comes) The Rainbow Mouth 3:32
8) Minotaure 2:33
9) Anyway The Minds Flow 7:57
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