Where do I start with `Phanerothyme'? This has to be my favourite Motorpsycho album...and there are quite a few to choose from. The Band present a master class of retro, 60s inspired, song writing, all indelibly stamped with the Motorpsycho seal of quality. Album opener `Bedroom Eyes', a folky acoustic ballad with a great string arrangement, is an indication of what's in store and sets out the band's stall. Each song is finely crafted, the string and wind arrangements masterful, and performance clean and polished. Bursts of jazz tinged guitar, keyboard, and flute flow through the tracks on offer, and the fuzzy rock guitars of past (and future) offerings are nowhere to be found. Which doesn't mean the record lacks punch - just listen to the powerful `For Free' with its driving acoustic guitar opening, and layers of guitar and keyboard. A goldmine of nostalgia, `Going to California' worships at the alter of the Doors and the Beach Boys, with pitch perfect vocal harmonies and an instrumental solo section conceived in the trippy haze of `Light My Fire'. The staggeringly good `Painting the Night Unreal' is a true highlight amongst highlights, as delicate as it is vitriolic, as subtle as it is passionate. `The Slow Phaseout' has an infectious chorus, complete with catchy trumpet fill, and the wonderful `Blindfolded' - another highlight - has so many clever twists and turns that it shouldn't work half as well as it does. Staggering stuff. Even the slightly quirky `When You're Dead', which sounds like the soundtrack to a hillbilly funeral procession, cannot dent the cast iron quality of `Phanerothyme'. This is a wonderful album, lighter in tone and feel than the band's heavier offerings, and underpinning their reputation as one of the most musically diverse and versatile bands in the world. If I could give it 6 stars I would.
