Review Summary: I find the whole concept of the album intriguing. The cover and title in some way gives you a sense of pure psychedelia, only to find that that there is just as much funk and rock in the mix. The lyrics are interesting and exhibit surrealistic touches. Th
Lemon Freddy Phantom of the Sky is quite a change of pace for
The Arcana, and a real step up from their debut album
Tomorrow is Yesterday, which was released in 2016. The music certainly encapsulates a feeling of steely freshness, but there are many different musical styles that can be identified on closer listening. It has been suggested that Lemon Freddy is a psychedelic tribute to days gone by, but I think it would be unfair to pigeonhole it so definitively. There are a number of different musical genres exhibited on this album - psychedelia is just one of them.
The songs in order:
01 Lemon Freddy. An acoustic guitar begins the album with a rather haunting chord progression – almost folky. Another joins the procession before the electric guitars and bass build the song to a crescendo, which culminates in a wall of drums. The main theme then bursts into being with an array of brass that carries the song along. This has to be one of my favourite intros to a song. The lyrics don't give a great deal away as to who Lemon Freddy is or was: '
Twisted lemon Freddy, Champagne at the ready, groovanorianum, celebrated phantom, see him in a pattern, dressed in purple satin, driving kinda lazy, checkpoint crazy'. But the surrealism nevertheless makes them intriguing.
5
02 When The Feeling’s Gone. A ballad in the style of those on The Arcana’s previous album, but here much more imagination has gone into the arrangement compared with something like
To Be Free. Also, the addition of a choir briefly at the end lends it a very gentle but melancholy air.
5
03 I’ve Waited. Very much in the vain of Flying High with a tirade of overlapping guitars, which renders any melody unrecognizable but, nevertheless, seems to fit well with the overall style of the song and gives it a varnish of Hendrix.
4.5
04 Here I Am. For some reason this song reminds me of Christmas. It might be that sleigh bells appear through the main verses or perhaps that snow is mentioned, but regardless of all this it has a feeling of hope and happiness associated with it; the main theme is played on, what appears to be, a harpsichord. Unfortunately, the album notes don’t mention any of the instruments used.
5
05 We In The Moonlight. The sound of an aircraft, or something resembling one, roars through your head before going into howling guitars and drums. There is also a surprising little break in the middle with a rather mean guitar riff. The bass on this track is some of the best on the album.
4.5
06 Good To Be Home. It opens with a harpsichord, but the middle section could have been taken from the soundtrack of Serpico or Dirty Harry. A very strange amalgamation of styles that typifies the album. 4[/b]
07 Rain Down Drifter. Certainly a McCartneyesque ballad. Has some of the best acoustic guitar on the album. The acoustic guitar and violin combination give it fairly sombre effect.
4
08 Let It Go. Another ballad with quite a collection of strings and brass. There is something Floydian about this song.
4
09 Yellow Plastic Tiling. The most psychedelic song on the album. There are some great synthetic sounds here that melt away during the guitar-driven chorus section. I particularly find the multi-bass overlaps work well during the verse and chorus.
5
10 Indigo Dust. The final track lasts for six and half minutes with the ‘fade out’ lasting nearly four minutes. In terms of instruments it is the simplest song on the album: guitar, bass and drums – at least for the first couple of minutes. The last four minutes is a conglomeration of weird sounds – perhaps in homage to [i]Tomorrow Never Knows[i]. Probably my favourite song on the album.
5
I find the whole concept of the album intriguing. The cover and title in some way gives you a sense of pure psychedelia, only to find that that there is just as much funk and rock in the mix. The lyrics are interesting and exhibit surrealistic touches. This is an album that reveals new sounds on every play.
