Cabin Essence Blog

…what Brian Wilson would be without the Wondermints. We all know the integral role members of the group play in Brian’s touring and studio band, let alone Darian Sahanaja’s pivotal role in getting SMiLE finally released. So Brian Wilson fans should really be buying an album of these guys snoring in gratitude for their role in Brian Wilson’s comeback.

The recently released  “new” Wondermints album Kaleidoscopin’, subtitled Exploring Prisms Of The Past, brings together songs from their early tapes that were not released on CD,  other non-album tracks, songs from tribute albums and other bits and pieces. It includes what some may regard as the Wondermints greatest gift to pop culture, the theme from the Austin Powers movies, and it’s certainly nice to have that on Wondermints CD.

Even better are songs like No One’s Girl, I Should Fall, Invisible Paint and the aching love song Gone which would have graced any Wondermints album. Throughout, there is the consistent melodic power pop that drew the initial connection between Brian Wilson and this group.

It may be a collection of odds and ends from the group, dating from the 1990s, but it starts the  2010s decade on a high musical note. The album also features extensive and insightful liner notes from the band. Brian Wilson fans may be obliged to be buy it, as suggested above, but will be putting it on repeat rotation. You can get buy it on Amazon by clicking on this link.

It isn’t long ago (six months to be precise) that the excellent Peter Lacey and Stephen Kalinich collaboration was released. However, the prolific Lacey has now released a new solo album, called Behind The Scenes -his seventh album in all. Once again, Lacey’s smooth textured and harmonic sounds are showcased. The publicity suggests this a concept album with a thread running through of an interplay between reality and illusion. There is certainly a constant Sgt. Pepper-like show atmosphere throughout the album that ties together the songs and the thin line that sometimes exists between reality and make-believe.

But ultimately an album is about the individual tracks -and there is some very strong tunesmithing in the poppy opener Funfair For The Common Man, the traditional folky sounds of Cast My Own Shadow and the languid instrumental Shadow Play.  My personal favorite is the effortlessly beautiful  Laughing Boy Here, a melody Brian Wilson would be proud of.

You can get a copy on the Pink Hedgehog website , where you can also get most of Lacey’s back catalogue.

The song has been available for a while but it has now been officially released for digital download, and as I mentioned last time, it gets the decade off to a great start. Yes, I’m talking about the Lucky Soul song, White Russian Doll, and it certainly taps into that source of brilliant pop music that makes you just want to get up and groove. It has just been awarded the BBC2 Single Of The Week on the Radcliffe and Maconie show so hopefully will pick up some legs from that.

The B-side is the slow and powerful Cryin’ In The Morning. There is a nice Brian Wilson connection here as it features the Stockholm Strings ‘n’ Horns who were featured on SMiLE and the That Lucky Old Sun premiere. You can download the new single here.  Can’t wait for their second album, A Coming Of Age, due soon.