Song(s) of the Day # 2,686 Grave Flowers Bongo Band

 

The kind of band that your mother warned you about and Julian Cope urged you to listen to. Sounding at various points like Faust, Can, Beefheart, Hawkwind, Zappa, Flower Travellin' Band and their Japrock bretheren, LA's Grave Flowers Bongo Band live up to their name on their second album Strength of Spring.

Flying the Freak Flag proud and free, Grave Flowers locate their Inner Bongolia, to cite one of the song titles here. Most obviously they tap into the full on jam seam that local contemporaries Ty Segall and Oh Sees have been working on relentlessly for several years.

How you stand on Strength of Spring will depend on how much time you have for Segall and Oh Sees's. I found it a bit relentless and claustrophobic after a while and had to come up for air after a while. 

Best track is opener Lazy River and I can unreservedly endorse that but for me it went off the boil thereafter.  It's all impeccably played and I'm quite sure a fine time was had by all, but after a whle I tired of the non stop soloing and opted for the pause option.