Delicate and wistful, Controller Of The Weather is one of the lighter moments on Mushaboom, defying the overall rock’n’roll patter of the album. The Finnish band begin as they mean to go on: the first few tracks are weighted towards the jammed, guitar-heavy psychedelia of Cream, Hendrix and Zeppelin, pausing for breath every so often (as on the Controller) to focus on the singer’s youthful voice or the shimmy of a drum.
These Finns only set out on their music-making mission two years ago, completing an album whose title brings to mind hallucinogenic combustion, and is representative of their musical landscape. Not in the Hawkwind-y, ‘We’re tripping our tits off, man’ way, but a lost moment in time, a day dedicated to mild hedonism.
It’s the chuggy Schrödinger’s Cat and the traditional temper of Dandelion Beach, painting pictures of moonlight and sandstorms, that bring a subtle touch of 70s hard rock into the fray. The kickstart opening bangers Contradictional Colours and The Way It Is give this album its gutsy live energy, delivered by that handsome singer, with fluffed-up hair and tie-dye attire.
It’s not consistent, but it is organic and experimental.
