It's fitting that Sandgate throwbacks The Higher State are signed to Austin, Texas label 13 O'Clock Records, as one of the city's most important musical exports, The 13th Floor Elevators, are a clear influence on their authentically reproduced psych-rock sound. Now on their third album 'Freakout At The Gallery', they've not tired of recreating the sunny, patchouli-scented sounds of the mid 60s west-coast garage scene, and armed with songs of this calibre there's no reason why we should tire of them either.
'You Had It Coming' clearly takes the harmonious jangle of The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield as its main reference and the crisp guitars could be lifted from either of those band's early recordings. 'These Things Take Time' chucks in a few clichés about incense burning, colours swirling and the spirit world, but it still draws you in by virtue of its fuzzed-out Santana-esque guitar and percussion and faithful production. 'Everything I See' also brings with it pleasantly distorted guitars and a summery vibe. They might be borrowing wholesale from the summer of love but at least they're doing it with conviction and a wonderful accuracy that makes their sonic time travelling difficult to resist.
The Higher State's website
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