polaroids of androids

Those that have seen Richard In Your Mind live understand that it's on stage that they truly hit their stride with the personal accompaniment to their music adding a lot to their overall sound. In many ways this album plays like a live performance - starting and ending strong with just enough in the middle to keep the people from running off to the bathroom. The nerdy yet engaging live presence of frontman Richard and the celebratory approach to every song is undeniably entertaining.

Richard In Your Mind's long overdue debut starts with the album's standout track. For When The Gizmo's On The Fritz is a thunderous, randomly arranged song that perfectly captures the band's psychedelic twist. The album then shifts into their latest single and most accessible release to date - The New Sun. It's a hypnotic 70's acid trip, gift wrapped with a catchy chorus and an addictive pop melody. Richard and his fellow spaced-out troopers seem to have taken a more serious approach to their music, tightening their sound and perfecting the details that make their music so fascinating. This is never more evident than on the third track, The Green Sun which with it's sing-a-long chorus and gentle opening guitars sounds as though it has been plucked straight from the flower power era and sprinkled with thicker harmonies and a tougher backbone.

It's around this point that the album hints at getting bogged down in a formulaic rut of songs that start slow and predictably build in momentum to an enjoyable final collision. The Valley, which ends with a fantastic spray of electronic distortion, travels on the spot for three minutes beforehand. 13 Stingrays, sounding something like world music on acid, picks things up slightly but still not completely grabbing the listener. Tromboon and the instrumental interlude March Of Nandi are also not strong enough reasons to make this portion of the album memorable. The initial momentum gained by the fantastic opening numbers is grinded down to a stand still.

Older tracks and live favourites, Boat Is Rocking, Playdoh and Skeleton do a lot to repair the damage of this slightly repetitive middle chunk. The latter, with it's child-like figiting and unpredictable nature, brilliantly captures what is so enjoyable about this band. Dark Energy sounds remarkably like Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips with it's occasional lightning bolts of sounds and overdramatic space voyage mood. It's clearly thought out and purposeful - no other song on the record quite highlights how much this band has developed. Ooeta Bowa is a fantastic closing number - full of unrequested drama, contrasting sounds and kicking into a lovely chaotic finale. A fantastic way to leave the listener, reminding them exactly why Richard In Your Mind are a little bit special.

The positives on this record far outweigh the few sore points. Richard In Your Mind are extremely close to mastering their brilliantly colourful sound and when they do believe that we will be the there, in the middle of the dancefloor wearing tie dyed t-shirts, Buddy Holly glasses and drinking a dangerous looking cocktail.