Side B of THE CURRENT, by Midday Veil, begins on a near-perfect note, a slow, ritualistic rhythm dressed in a “Space Grass”-style bass line, synth eternalities, and folk-y vox. The whole peyote-trip-in-the-desert thing kinda died for me when I realized Ray Manzarek was played by Kyle MacLachlan in the Doors movie (nothing wrong with it, I just didn’t realize it was him for so long I’m embarrassed), but I’ll be damned if that isn’t what comes to mind when this psychedelic, yet proggy, though less so than the rest of this LP, stew hits my system like tea imbued with mushroom mystique. When the shadow-y voices fade a litany of effects and programmed tonal permutations writhe a little until a suddenly sprightly sequence kicks in and we’re back at the post-Harmonia, Bitchin Bajas-/Stereolab-esque LazerQuest emporium of prog opulence we were treated to on Side A. I have no qualms with the more beat-heavy, traditional prog-rock approach, particularly because the drippy sound smears resound with so much flavor, yet I crave more of the mystical madness of the lone departure. I’m guessing most of the working population would disagree with me on this point so don’t hesitate too much, as at 300 copies THE CURRENT won’t be juicing your Lite Brite for too much longer if you fail to act.
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