88 - Kind of Light
(EMK)
A prophetic title if ever there was one, the debut album from this El Lay quintet is exactly that: kind of light. If you recall Spacehog, the other Coast's faux-glam Bowie wannabes (God, was "In the Meantime" really 8 years ago?!?), then these left coasters are right up your alley - think of them as Bolan-(kind of) lite, with a Kinks-(kind of) lite chaser (and nothing even close to resembling the 'hogs one hit wonder). "Afterlife" opens up with some loungy vibes (thems xylophones to you and me) and ends up sounding like an old T.Rex B-side, while "Elbow Blues" is a spot-on impersonation of "Superman"-era Kinks. The problem, however, with these tracks (and, ultimately, the whole album) is that after an enticing beginning, they go on much too long and dissolve into bland, derivative AOR pap, er, pop. (But after all, this is El Lay, a city that hasn't had an original rock and roll idea in its life - unless you want to count that ridiculous, high hair, heavy metal from skinny guys in spandex as a discernable genre.) Even "How Good It Can Be"'s "woo-woo" falsettos recall those silly Stones ballads with the similar backing vox (think of "Waiting on A Friend" and songs of that ilk).
I attribute this problem to two factors: the album was self-produced (an outside influence may have reined in the excesses), and all the songs were written by singer Keith Slettedahl. Perhaps, spreading the songwriting wealth around next time may break up the monotony and sameness of all the tracks. There are a couple of winners, though. The wall of sound production and sleepy, slow motion harmonies on the title track present a fairly accomplished psychedelic side to the band that should be explored further. Toss in a groovy light show and some stage smoke and you have the beginnings of a wild party. But, ultimately, the pleasant collection of confections desperately needs some variety. Like a wad of cotton candy, a sticky-sweet exterior sheen yields a lot of hot air and nothingness underneath. For undiscriminating fans of acoustic Bolan, late-period Kinks, The Sinceros, and the aforementioned Spacehog.
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