Dimentia 13 - Mirror Mind (1987)



Może to już zakrawa na "staroć", ale wygrzebałem jeszcze gdzieś spod ziemi "małą perełkę". Mowa o roku 1987, kiedy wytwórnia Midnight Records wydała płytę "Mirror Mind" grupy Dimentia 13 rodem z Ohio. Jest to druga płyta w ich dyskografii. Muzyka zupełnie zdumiewająca - niby nic "odkrywczego", a brzmi tak naturalnie i szczerze. Proste, garażowe piosenki w psychedelicznej otoczce. Grupa do złudzenia przypomina brzmienie stylistycznie podobnych zespołów z lat sześćdziesiątych jak The Chocolate Watchband, The Seeds etc. Dziesiątki grup wzoruje się na tym w okresie neo-psychedelii, jednak sporo z nich przesadza i przedabrza. Na tym tle Dimentia 13 wyróżnia się niezwykle wyraźnie przekonując swoją bezpretensjonalną muzyką. Proszę zresztą posłuchać i zobaczyć.

Bradley S. Warner - vocals, guitar
Louanne Varholick - vocals, keyboards
Joe Nofziger - bass
Jeff Lisk - drums

PS. Nazwa grupy być może w luźny sposób nawiązuje do niskobudżetowego horroru "Dementia 13" Francisa Forda Coppoli z roku 1963. A może na swój sposób do The 13th Floor Elevators - inspiracji których nie da się ukryć w muzyce grupy . No, ale to tylko takie moje skojarzenia.



Way back in the incense-fogged, swirling yesterdays of 1985 Dimentia 13 unveiled their first album, which was released on the ever alternative Midnight records label of New York, USA. The music, a fusion of Garage, Acid Rock and lonesome acoustic folk (with a touch of the psychotically surreal), appealed to lysergic fans all and sundry. Dimentia 13's debut record still sounds as fresh today as the day it was born ... [and has] found its day-glo niche in the halls of psychedelia. However the identity of the band remained a complete mystery, the only clue being the name of the producer, Brad Warner and the engineer Scot Goodman. Midnight were certainly not giving the game away and in 1987, two years later, a second LP appeared in an amazing mirror sleeve. The LP was, appropriately, called "Mirror Mind" and depicted on its silver jacket was a many eyed brain holding a looking glass and a one eyed spider made of fingers! The music was equally bizarre. Highlights of side one include "Mesmerized," with its pulsing keyboard motif, and the haunting "Mushroom Season" that has an almost otherworldly atmosphere permeated with strange, delicate sitar, harpsichord, tabla and church organ-like sounds. On side two we find the brooding punk of "Psychedelic Mushroom Cloud Explosion" and "She's Alright," sandwiched either side of the almost folk-rock "20 Years Before My Time" The best cut here, however, is "Naked Truth" which closes the LP. Beautiful backwards guitar lines fly around a gently meandering acoustic guitar pattern that is in turn ushered onward by tabla beats. More exquisite lyrics evoke dreamy images "Opening backwards someone must have come that way long ago . . . how many ways do I have to tell the story of the naked truth that I beheld." The creator of these records certainly means business, as far as mind expanding is concerned. (Richard Allen, excerpts from main feature article in Freakbeat #6)


Dementia 13 (Francis Ford Coppola, 1963)

The Ohioan behind these simple demi-psychedelic garage romps is Bradley S. Warner, a resourceful Syd Barrett fan who frequently displays ingenuity yet never quite ascends to the magical heights (depths?) of retro-pop resonance. With minor assists from keyboardist/singer/bassist Louanne Varholick (and, on the third LP, a drummer), the singer/guitarist indulges his nostalgic passions and intellectual interests on songs that have grown from obvious selfconsciousness (e.g., "Can You Hear the Walls Melting?" and "Psychedelic Mushroom Cloud Explosion," both from the underwhelming Mirror Mind) to broader, more idiosyncratic concerns.

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