Sound of Vinyl

For a brief period during 1967-68, Parson Sound was a frontrunner in the burgeoning Swedish music scene, leading to an opening gig for the Doors and an invite from Andy Warhol to play an art exhibit in Stockholm. Regrettably, no album was ever cut and the band's activity ended almost as soon as it began " although later manifestations would emerge and continue under the names International Harvester, Harvester and Trad, Grasoch Stenar. Serving up a platter of archival recordings this Parson Sound collection is drug-addled psychedelic mind fuckery at its best. And that's just the beginning. Successfully marrying the ideas of rock, jazz, and drone experimentalism, this Swedish quintet sounds like it wasn't just trying to break free of the limitations inherent in each genre; at times, it sounds like they were trying to blow the doors off the hinges. Metal brutalities of 60s heavyweights Blue Cheer merge with the minimalistic tone patterns of La Monte Young and Terry Riley. Pitchfork rating 9.3.