Finnish band PERMANENT CLEAR LIGHT was formed back in 2009, formed by a trio of seasoned musicians with backgrounds from many different types of music who all share a common love of late 60’s psychedelic music. The single “Higher Than the Sun” is their first standalone band release to my knowledge, and will be available from vinyl enthusiast label Fruits de Mer Records in October 2012.
If I were to make a short description of the music explored on this single, psychedelic pop music would be my primary choice. Both on their own original tune as well as the cover of Van der Graaf Generator’s Afterwards we’re dealing with compositions of a low key, gentle and rather fragile nature. Higher Than the Sun a ballad at heart with an acoustic gentle guitar motif backed by careful bass and rhythms as the foundation for the calm, melodic lead vocals, with occasional symphonic textures adding depth in a manner that gives rise to associations towards certain tracks by good, old The Beatles. And all along we’re treated to a fairly liberal use of oscillation, futuristic sounds hovering on top, adding a careful space rock dimension to the proceedings in a careful but effective manner.
Afterwards, despite it’s progressive rock origin, is a calmer piece with a firmer foundation in pop music. The bass guitar combines with the drums to form a dominating but careful presence on this occasion, with light toned acoustic and electric guitars wedged carefully in between the rhythm foundation and the lead vocals. A neat psych-oriented chorus and psych-dripping guitar details adds a fragile psychedelic dimension to this subdued, melancholic excursion.
Fans of psychedelic pop/rock of a gentle, careful nature should feel right at home when the needle hits the grooves of this 7 inch slab of vinyl. And in case you might feel like waiting for the iTunes version, I’ll have to inform anyone with those thoughts in mind that this sadly won’t be an option. As with all Fruits de Mer releases this one is vinyl only, and in a limited edition at that.
My rating: 80/100