I’m not sure if calling Melody Fields‘ 1991 album a “companion piece” to their 1901 album is correct. It feels more link a continuation of 1901, or perhaps a better world is a transformation of it, not unlike the flower on 1991‘s cover opening to reveal things previously hidden.
1991 also has plenty of guest collaborators, whereas 1901 was all Melody Fields all of the time. The opening track, “Hallelujah,” (a remix / re-edit / re-imagining of “Jesus” from 1901) is a spaced out team-up with Snake Bunker. “Blasphemy” is a wall of My Bloody Valentine-inspired sound – beautiful, loud, and somewhat intimidating. Psych-DJ Al Lover teams up with Melody Fields on “Jesus Lover,” bringing up the drum beats and bass to turn “Jesus” into a dance track.
“Dandelion” rolls along like a cool van painted with some kind of wild ancient warrior artwork on the side. You can envision warm wind whipping through your hair, perhaps with a dandelion tucked behind one ear, as you drive out to a coastal music festival. Human Language joins Melody Fields, appropriately on “Talking with Jesus.” They slow down “Jesus” almost to a crawl, turning it into a dark wave track that beckons you from behind a curtain at the back of a weird store is some forgotten rust belt town.
The bold guitars on “Diary of a Young Man” bring images of dusty ghost towns to mind…and then it suddenly hits you with vocals that could be from an actual ghost for all I know. Get your incense ready for “Bhagavana Najika Cha,” because it might lift you off the ground, and the closer, “Son of Man” (guest-starring fellow Swedish psych-giants GOAT), keeps you afloat until after the album is done.
It’s a neat record that shows off Melody Fields’ different music influences, loves, and talents. Where else are you going to hear a record that blends psychedelia, dark wave, and dance grooves?
Keep your mind open.
[I’ll sing your praises if you subscribe.]
[Thanks to Melody Fields!]