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- Census Of Hallucinations - The 3rd Eye (Download)
Census Of Hallucinations - The 3rd Eye (Download)
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- The Pied Piper Of Hell
- Lie Again
- Big Brown Pyramid
- The Selfishness Of The Thatcher Years
- The Sea Of Green
- Life Is Never Easy
- Have Him Stripped And Washed And Sent To My Tent
- Buttercup Biscuits
- Out Of Body Experience
- Pillow Full Of Dreams
- Think
- Sttagon Cluin The Dragon
- 55,000 Airmen
Census of Hallucinations - "The 3rd Eye"
The first Census Of Hallucinations CD featured a great combination of memorable songs and trippy space excursions. Opus 2 was powerful as a complete work. And now The 3rd Eye, the band's third release in a year, combines the strengths of both those albums to create a set of tracks that are both memorable and flow seamlessly from one to the next while still providing loads of variety, freakiness, solid songwriting, and the good fun studio embellishments that the Stone Premonitions folks do so well.
The 3rd Eye is also the band's most tripped out work to date. The CD opens with "The Pied Piper Of Hell", a psychedelically ethereal intro piece with Terri~B's lovely angelic chants, devilish efx'd voicings, soaring flutes, acoustic guitar and freaky synth sounds. It then moves into "Lie Again", a Tim & Terri song that grabbed me on the first listen and stands tall with "Orion" and "The Moon" as some of the best songs I've heard from them. At its core this is an acoustic pop tune. But then there's all the good fun Stone Studio efx and spaciness, and hysterical voicings from Tim. But this is all embellishment and the song is the principal focus. Their space suits are full of shit!!!!!!
"Big Brown Pyramid" and "Think" are two of my favorite tracks. "Big Brown Pyramid" is a funky, totally cosmic dance tune, narrated by what I imagine are aliens. It’s got a solid get-down beat and awesome space electronics. After a brief trippy sitar sounding intro, "Think" quickly launches into a killer jamming space funky tune. Barely over 2 minutes, it's way too short. I really wanted it to jam on for a while. "The Sea Of Green" and "Buttercup Biscuits" both reminded me a lot of Ash Ra Tempel, the stronger track being "Buttercup Biscuits" with its rapid syncopated synth patterns and heavenly cosmic waves. But all the extra sounds, voices, and guitar make it indelibly Census' own work. If this is space... it feels like a great place to be.
Other highlights include "The Selfishness Of The Thatcher Years", a bouncy meditative new agey atmospheric track, but it has a rhythm that kept my head bopping along throughout. "Have Him Stripped And Washed And Sent To My Tent" is a bit of a freakout tune that mixes mindfuck synths, crazed grunting and laughing, and intermittent drum 'n bass beats. "Pillow Full Of Dreams" features a wild combination of symphonic keys and super wah'd guitar jamming. And "55,000 Airmen" is a 13-minute cosmic exploratory trip that alternates between chaotic psychedelic madness and controlled song. It's difficult to describe as the track is an evolving collage that gets quite manic at times. There are some great moments where the guitar jams along with freaked out voices and trippy synths. Revolution #9 for the space age.
In summary, if you liked either of the two previous Census Of Hallucinations CD's then this is a must-have. If you haven't heard any of them then this is the place to start. It's loaded with craziness, structure, freakiness, melody, and fun. Put on the headphones... and melt away.
- Review by Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations
Census of Hallucinations - "The 3rd Eye"
Latest album opens with a sea of ringing guitars, ethereal flute and heavenly wordless vocals, leading you to think there's a whole album of this sort of thing, all a bit Gong-like, a state of play verified by the brief spoken word that follows, before the next song arrives, an acoustic led tune with multi-vocals and samples, the subject matter and arrangements furthering the feel of some Daevid Allen style of things, with an almost early Bowie tinge to the male vocals, and all quite engaging in a stiff-upper-lip British kind of way, yet politically aware and all the better for it. The next few tracks are more synth-led pieces with plenty of soaring layers and all continuing the feel and to a small extent the atmosphere of early Gong, with another influence I couldn't bring to mind. All in all, as a psychedelic set of songs and instrumentals goes, this is a treat. Like the Terri B album above, needs a couple of listens for starters and for me found more of a place in my heart than the aforementioned album by virtue of its use of layers, arrangements, textures and dynamics, not overly song-based, not using the humour of samples too much, creating songs that have weight and elasticity. There's plenty on which to focus, musically, and that's the real attraction, so that while melodic, wide-ranging and psychedelic, it has a beauty that attracts….all a bit like early Gong in fact. Don't expect to find the thing SOUNDS like that band, but I feel sure that if you like them and have a penchant for something similar but different, more synths than guitars, this is an album you'll fall in love with quite easily.
- Review by Andy Gee, CD Services
Census of Hallucinations - "The 3rd Eye"
'The 3rd Eye' is humorous yet serious psychedelic and space rock with social and political commentary accompanied by some excellent music as on 'Lie Again' and 'The Selfishness of the Thatcher Years'. 'Buttercup Biscuits' is pure psychedelia while 'Out of Body Experience' is almost musique concrete but not quite. Census of Hallucinations never go that far and their beautiful melodies always shine through the extravaganza of programming, effects and sampling. The lengthy suite '55,000 Airmen' starts off with slapstick piano and is as good an anti-war song as you will hear with guest synth player Hardy from Mr Quimby's Beard adopting a 'semi documentary' style as he plays the part of the bomber. Eclectic in style with the messages conveyed very intelligently and artistically, Census of Hallucinations CDs are essential listening and come highly recommended.
- Review by Phil Jackson
The first Census Of Hallucinations CD featured a great combination of memorable songs and trippy space excursions. Opus 2 was powerful as a complete work. And now The 3rd Eye, the band's third release in a year, combines the strengths of both those albums to create a set of tracks that are both memorable and flow seamlessly from one to the next while still providing loads of variety, freakiness, solid songwriting, and the good fun studio embellishments that the Stone Premonitions folks do so well.
The 3rd Eye is also the band's most tripped out work to date. The CD opens with "The Pied Piper Of Hell", a psychedelically ethereal intro piece with Terri~B's lovely angelic chants, devilish efx'd voicings, soaring flutes, acoustic guitar and freaky synth sounds. It then moves into "Lie Again", a Tim & Terri song that grabbed me on the first listen and stands tall with "Orion" and "The Moon" as some of the best songs I've heard from them. At its core this is an acoustic pop tune. But then there's all the good fun Stone Studio efx and spaciness, and hysterical voicings from Tim. But this is all embellishment and the song is the principal focus. Their space suits are full of shit!!!!!!
"Big Brown Pyramid" and "Think" are two of my favorite tracks. "Big Brown Pyramid" is a funky, totally cosmic dance tune, narrated by what I imagine are aliens. It’s got a solid get-down beat and awesome space electronics. After a brief trippy sitar sounding intro, "Think" quickly launches into a killer jamming space funky tune. Barely over 2 minutes, it's way too short. I really wanted it to jam on for a while. "The Sea Of Green" and "Buttercup Biscuits" both reminded me a lot of Ash Ra Tempel, the stronger track being "Buttercup Biscuits" with its rapid syncopated synth patterns and heavenly cosmic waves. But all the extra sounds, voices, and guitar make it indelibly Census' own work. If this is space... it feels like a great place to be.
Other highlights include "The Selfishness Of The Thatcher Years", a bouncy meditative new agey atmospheric track, but it has a rhythm that kept my head bopping along throughout. "Have Him Stripped And Washed And Sent To My Tent" is a bit of a freakout tune that mixes mindfuck synths, crazed grunting and laughing, and intermittent drum 'n bass beats. "Pillow Full Of Dreams" features a wild combination of symphonic keys and super wah'd guitar jamming. And "55,000 Airmen" is a 13-minute cosmic exploratory trip that alternates between chaotic psychedelic madness and controlled song. It's difficult to describe as the track is an evolving collage that gets quite manic at times. There are some great moments where the guitar jams along with freaked out voices and trippy synths. Revolution #9 for the space age.
In summary, if you liked either of the two previous Census Of Hallucinations CD's then this is a must-have. If you haven't heard any of them then this is the place to start. It's loaded with craziness, structure, freakiness, melody, and fun. Put on the headphones... and melt away.
- Review by Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations
Census of Hallucinations - "The 3rd Eye"
Latest album opens with a sea of ringing guitars, ethereal flute and heavenly wordless vocals, leading you to think there's a whole album of this sort of thing, all a bit Gong-like, a state of play verified by the brief spoken word that follows, before the next song arrives, an acoustic led tune with multi-vocals and samples, the subject matter and arrangements furthering the feel of some Daevid Allen style of things, with an almost early Bowie tinge to the male vocals, and all quite engaging in a stiff-upper-lip British kind of way, yet politically aware and all the better for it. The next few tracks are more synth-led pieces with plenty of soaring layers and all continuing the feel and to a small extent the atmosphere of early Gong, with another influence I couldn't bring to mind. All in all, as a psychedelic set of songs and instrumentals goes, this is a treat. Like the Terri B album above, needs a couple of listens for starters and for me found more of a place in my heart than the aforementioned album by virtue of its use of layers, arrangements, textures and dynamics, not overly song-based, not using the humour of samples too much, creating songs that have weight and elasticity. There's plenty on which to focus, musically, and that's the real attraction, so that while melodic, wide-ranging and psychedelic, it has a beauty that attracts….all a bit like early Gong in fact. Don't expect to find the thing SOUNDS like that band, but I feel sure that if you like them and have a penchant for something similar but different, more synths than guitars, this is an album you'll fall in love with quite easily.
- Review by Andy Gee, CD Services
Census of Hallucinations - "The 3rd Eye"
'The 3rd Eye' is humorous yet serious psychedelic and space rock with social and political commentary accompanied by some excellent music as on 'Lie Again' and 'The Selfishness of the Thatcher Years'. 'Buttercup Biscuits' is pure psychedelia while 'Out of Body Experience' is almost musique concrete but not quite. Census of Hallucinations never go that far and their beautiful melodies always shine through the extravaganza of programming, effects and sampling. The lengthy suite '55,000 Airmen' starts off with slapstick piano and is as good an anti-war song as you will hear with guest synth player Hardy from Mr Quimby's Beard adopting a 'semi documentary' style as he plays the part of the bomber. Eclectic in style with the messages conveyed very intelligently and artistically, Census of Hallucinations CDs are essential listening and come highly recommended.
- Review by Phil Jackson