REVIEW: PURSON 'IN THE MEANTIME'

REVIEW

PURSON

IN THE MEANTIME

MACHINE ELF RECORDS

by Alex Buckellew

 

Following their much vaunted debut album, Purson re-emerges triumphantly from a haze of hookah smoke and incense for their new e.p. In The Meantime.

 

Eschewing any metal conventions in exchange for brilliantly executed retro-psychedelia, In The Meantime starts strong with "Death's Kiss".  The song puts Rosalie Campbell's powerful voice in the forefront of a churning rock ensemble fortified with heavy organ and flute, evoking an alternate universe where Mellow Candle's Clodagh Simonds sang lead for The Strawberry Alarm Clock.

 

"Danse Macabre" continues with a riff similar enough to its predecessor that you'd be forgiven for thinking it a continuation of that track.  It's rawer and muddier though, the vocals more buried in the mix, making it the weakest on the record.

 

"Wanted Man" slows down the tempo and adds the obligatory mid-song acid freakout.  Purson, however, remembers what many of their psych-rock contemporaries don't - that such indulgences work best built around a strong hook, and "Wanted Man"'s trippy midsection is sandwiched between a riff that sounds like it was plucked from the brains of the original Alice Cooper band.

 

The e.p.'s closer is at times spooky and heavy, and sporting a middle-eastern vibe.  "I Will Be Good" Campbell purrs the track's title - based on this record and their career thus far, it's a safe prediction.