After reading that title and band name, do you really need to be told to expect '70s headphones prog-rock? Probably not. But Epic Ruins—a Funkytown supergroup of Jordan Richardson (who has backed Ben Harper with Relentless7) Steve Steward (Darth Vato) Sam Anderson (Sam Anderson and the Thrift Store Troubadours) and Jeff Dazey (Villain Vanguard)—make an astonishingly authentic-sounding fantasy rock album that greatly benefits from the use of vintage gear.
Seriously, though, headphones: Listening in the living room, the ridiculous side of the disc—the sheer silliness of nostalgia—has something of a comic effect. Listening in your head, though—eyes closed, ears open, blissed out—is a fine way to hear the roaring guitars soaked in watery reverb, skronking saxophone screams and trippy wavering synths, all syncopated for maximum psychedelia. You can all but smell the dusty white-hot tubes, and the swooshing head-panning phasing and flanging will make you wish you'd held onto that old cosmic blacklight poster.
Apparently, this record is a concept album about a space wizard on a quest through parallel universes. Or something. But this couch-lock record will send you on your own voyage. Can't wait to hear the vinyl version, to be released in December.
