Society of Rockets

Our Paths Related

BY Vish KhannaPublished Mar 24, 2008

With its seamless mastering, where one track melds into another, Our Paths Related is an exhilarating psych pop pastiche by San Francisco’s the Society of Rockets. While 2005’s Where the Grass Grows Black possessed an angular angst, it also maintained a hippie-derived, freak folk positivism for the ten-member Society. Our Paths Related picks up on that blue cheer within a swirling, spacey musical aura that’s more mystical than militant. Just as "Teenage Gears” launches forward in a country stomp propelled by leader Joshua Babcock’s urgent voice, the psych soul of "Time” mellows things out with a cool horn section and tempered singing. With its gorgeous chorus of vocal harmonies, gritty guitar riffs and more beautiful horns, "Mountain Magic” is a strong, multi-layered song. Babcock has the same blues that plague Jon Spencer and "No Dice” lies somewhere between the grit of Now I Got Worry and the uplift of the Stone Roses. Similarly, the classic retro rock of "California’s Burning” and CSN-inspired harmonies at the end give Black Mountain a run for their money. Embracing the liberation found in free jazz, folk and punk, the Society of Rockets continue to make psychedelic rock that pushes boundaries.
(UnderPop)

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