The Red Plastic Buddha "Sunflower Sessions"

The Red Plastic Buddha-Forget me Not
The Red Plastic Buddha-Clouds
The Red Plastic Buddha-Kerosene
The Red Plastic Buddha-Gingerbread Pornography

Alright god damn it, I've been gone a while, so its time for me to do...something.
So to get this site back in order, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. It's this band from Chicago, and they're known as The Red Plastic Buddha. Their first album, called "Sunflower Sessions", was released in 2007. It's a short one, but don't let that discourage you.
The first song on the album, "Forget Me Not", has a classic psychedelic feel to it, very reminiscent of Brian Jonestown Massacre, Acid Mothers Temple or Spacemen 3. The drums are steady, the guitar is jangly, the synth is trippy and the bass moves everything along. The next song, "Rollercoaster" happens to be a Spacemen 3 cover, and lord knows I love me my Spacemen 3. They didn't butcher the original, either. So many kudos to The Red Plastic Buddha for taking an excellent song and not...well, ruining it. Up next is "Clouds" and it starts out with a simple guitar riff and drum beat and then goes in to harmonizing vocals. This song sort of reminds me of driving around the country during twilight, watching the final rays of the sun fade away as they engulfed be the creeping darkness. The song eventually heads towards some interesting effects that go hand in hand with a guitar solo that is neither boring nor over the top, just hitting the right spot. The next song, "Kerosene", starts out with something that sounds like someone is playing the hand saw (you know, when they use a bow and that crazy shit). Maybe its just a guitar effect, but its pleasant to the ears. The song carries on with keyboards, tambourine and a mellow guitar riff. Later on there's a decent chord progression. The following song is "Over and Over", and it's another mellow one with more vocal harmonies during the chorus. Eventually there's a pretty straightforward guitar solo. All in all, its a great slow song, something to slowly sway or nod your head to. The final song is a live song called "Gingerbread Pornography". This one is a little livelier, with more of a rock oriented riff than the previous psych/space based songs. The song still has trippy lyrics, keyboards and harmonies, so it doesn't stray too far from the bands formula. Oh, and there's a keyboard solo, and its awesome.

So there you have it. I have given you a solid album from a solid band. If you feel like picking up a copy, head over to allthatisheavy.com ; they have this album and their latest one as well.