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Sir Robin & The Longbowmen – Prozacco

September 17, 2018 by A.S. Van Dorston

Psych rock has been enjoying an expanding audience for the past few years thanks to bands like Tame Impala, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and the Oh Sees, who manage to give a nod to the genre’s origins in 60’s garage and psychedelic rock and 70s prog, but also more modern electronic music. Dresden’s Sir Robin & The Longbowmen leaned more toward the 60s origins on their 2016 self-titled debut, but stood out with well-paced atmospherics and memorable songwriting. Plus there was that inscrutable beaver on the cover art.

Their second album nudges the production ever so slightly forward to modern times, balanced with instruments associated with that creatively rich era of 1968-72 when the Farfisa organ and mellotron were newish toys. While elements from the first album remain intact, on Prozacco, their stylistic scope has expanded, kicking off with the title track, a great motorik electro-fueled groove that’s been the key template for current bands like Moon Duo and Minami Deutsch. “Preacher,” sung by Robin Heller, delves into garage noir territory, with the plinking piano reminding me of the sorely missed The Flaming Stars, with the bonus of a disorienting, wobbly bridge. At 6:02, “Again” is the longest track on the fairly succinct album, the leisurely bass line propelling this song about sleepwalking through the streets.

The vocals take a sharp departure on both “Johnny Head In The Air” and “Right Back (In Your Face)” which recall Edward Broughton’s Beefheart/Howlin’ Wolf damaged gruff vocals. While it sounds like a different singer, it’s Konrad Reichel on lead vocals with Robin Heller on backing vocals. The songs are also the band’s hardest rocking, and provide some variety in energy and pacing on the album. “Right Back” is especially fun, as one can imagine some kind of galumphing drunken monkeydance to accompany it.

“Le Désert” is a more atmospheric piece, like Cluster with an assist from Brian Eno’s liquidy, psychedelic sound affects. Marion Bonneau contributes spoken vocals, but the showcase here for me is the satisfyingly bubbly drum sound. It’s a fine interlude, but then we get another one in the form of the minute long carnivalesque “Hammond-Tribunal.” This would make more sense to me if there was another song in between these. Organs warmed up, they play a key role in the simmering slow-paced “Grief,” accented by some light psychedelic effects. “Schneckenhaus” is even more delicate, with hushed vocals lead by Stefan Hühn that don’t come in until halfway through. It’s also the first appearance of  Hühn’s sitar (played with a violin bow!), which can also be heard on the closer, “Sun Is Shining Bright,” the closest the band comes to an overtly 60s sound. It’s a great tune that could have fit well onto The Kinks’ Something Else (1967).

There may be a handful of psych bands that are currently somewhat fashionable, but none that navigates psych prog and kosmische, lightness and darkness quite like Sir Robin & The Longbowmen. Much like the capsule hidden within the seemingly innocuous glass of bubbly Berliner weisse on the cover, it can open gateways to vibrant sound worlds. Drink up and investigate for yourself.

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