So Close Yet So Far Out

2LP - 2 x 220 gram audiophile vinyl - record set in a color gatefold sleeve limited to 500 copies. And yetter still, so wonderful. This inaugural solo jaunt by Legendary Pink Dots guitarist/bassist/violinist Martijn de Kleer betrays a love for freeform freakouts of the 60's, with a special emphasis on the mellow, acid drenched stylings of the West Coast underground of the late 60's. All the I's are microdotted & all the mushroom teas crossed as Martijn's guitar gently seeps, crawls, oozes, boils & burns. & even though Martijn's Dotted past is in some evidence, this is hardly an LPD Karaoke album. This is a fully fleshed out beast of original design. Martijn's vocals occasionally punctuate the parade, but the majority involves instrumental clusters, some based in rock form & others more like giant swelling clouds, all thick with psychedelia (acid rain?). Besides the requisite fuzzing guitar (see also Damon Edge/ Helios Creed), Martijn employs such merry men as Ryan Moore (Twilight Circus), Raymond Steeg (Girlfriends, Legendary Pink Dots, Beequeen), Phil Knight (Legendary Pink Dots) & Cevin Key (Skinny Puppy, Download, Tear Garden), oh & a chorus of Himalayan children singing all vocals on the 26 minute acid mind tripper ?The Apple Crumble Trail?. A beautiful production that is filled with sonic surprises at every turn & is sure to make any day trip, erm, trippier. 8 tracks over 2 albums, exactly the way any good psych record is supposed to be, damnit! The finale is a particularly rewarding climb to Heaven on a honeyed ladder, from which view is all poppies, beautiful poppies, & the sound is perfectly Kleer.