This is an old CDRWL entry from almost exactly 6 years ago. My original thoughts were the following: I found this album to be an extremely pleasant piece of music. And there's an underground experimentalism found here that gives off a whiff of Ohr era Krautrockian glory. Perhaps the abundance of flute plays a major role in this perception. We tend to forget that many of the original German underground rockers had a jazz background before entering the studio stoned out of their frickin' minds. Now - to be clear - this is a straight up instrumental jazz rock album in the mold of MPS more so than a Kosmische Musik freakout session. But one that is wonderfully underproduced which gives it that underground garage feel.
In hearing this last night, I had a +1 experience. Songs for the Sirens has a vibe that is entirely European, and takes your mind to some unique places. Favorite tracks include 'Wind', 'Arabesque', and the title track. But there's not a stinker in the bunch. Highly consistent throughout, and a superb offering overall.
Ownership: LP: 1976 Gothic. Recent acquisition purchased directly from guitarist Mark Gordon. I asked him (twice) if he would be interested in penning a few notes about the history of the band and recording, to share here. He didn't respond, meaning 2 things: 1) He's working on it or 2) He's telling me to go pound sand (it ended up being 2 :-( ). Either way, I'm grateful to now own this album, something I put on a want list immediately after the CDRWL entry.
My observations 6 years ago on the cover: Mark Pierson is one of a seemingly endless number of folks to consider use of the generic rainbow album cover. The kind of sleeve you expect to find at Goodwill for 10 cents fronting the "The Megachurch All-Stars Sing The Osmonds" (with one tube of toothpaste included!).
This was an AC discovery (seems they all were...), and here were his thoughts on the album: "Unusual and extremely obscure jazz-rock effort from this Worcester, Massachusetts based ensemble. Flute and lightly amplified jazz guitar lead the way through a mostly tuneful set of tracks (no free jazz freak outs here). An introspective, almost melancholy tone defines this album, which won't knock your socks off with its energy or virtuosity, but is engaging and appealing on its own terms."
1/14/15 (CDRWL)
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