When you step into the world of The Kumari you step back in time. Harold Wilson is in his first term as PM, there's talk coming over about "happenings" on the US west coast and John Michell is telling about 'The View Over Atlantis' and the coming of the age of Aquarius. But this isn't two-a-penny garage revivalism like so many others who worship vinyl and wish they lived in Haight-Ashbury, this London group make garage that sounds fresh and vibrant but reeks of the late 60s, it's not a stagnant copy, there's life here and the six songs on this EP are made from Roger McGuinn's guitar work, The Chocolate Watchband's' lyrics and a little of Roky Erickson's imagination. They like their garage to be sparkling, psychedelic, summery and with a hint of surf. Paisley shirts and rectangular shades are a must.
Single 'Fall In Love With The Sun' seems like its sole purpose is to evoke the sun's rays in musical form, the uptempo 'She Was Mine' is another highlight and potential single; these songs ring with a sharpness, the drums too; it's been produced to be light and shimmering, not the fuggy psychedelia some prefer. 'Don't You Dare' and 'Watching You' are very much period pieces and sound incredibly familiar, the former includes a great guitar solo. The surfy 'Bee' is pretty much impossible not to like. The final track is instrumental 'Kumari', a song that evokes the same time period yet almost seems to be predicting some of the sounds Spacemen 3 and Galaxie 500 would be making years later. It's all a rip-off of course, no one's pretending otherwise, but few have done this so well recently.
The Kumari's website
Stream or download the EP
Catch them live:
Mar 31 The Macbeth, London, UK
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