When I hear psyche bands recreating the sounds of the late '60's in an 'authentic' manner, my heart tends to drop. I often tend to think that not only is the point of what made that music so timeless lost, but I'm also reminded of those English Civil War recreation societies, only with their medieval garb replaced with suede, corduroy, Cuban heels and Vox teardrop guitars. Fine if thats your thing, but its not for me. Psychedelic music has evolved and expanded in so many ways since then, and even at the time it was a lot more expansive than the parodies suggest.
'They Came From The Sky' does sail a little close to the wind in this respect. The heavy biker bass, square wave wah-fuzz third eye guitar solos and vintage organs convince, however Human Eye bring enough weirdness to the party to claim its own identity. I'm reminded of the over-amped, echoplexed, surging power of Comets On Fire and the doomier side of the 13th Floor Elevators. Throw a bit of proto-prog-punk and genuine bat-shit weirdness in there, and you have something that begins to enchant. Titles like 'Impregnate The Martian Queen pt2', 'Here Come The Peopleoids' and 'Kicking Back In The Electric Chair' resonate with Yippie sloganeering, which given that they are from MC5 turf, it fits remarkably well. Title track (and album closer) has a very spooky tombstone groove, which you could imagine Roky Erickson would have arched an eyebrow at back in 1968.
Vocally, Timmy Vulgar reminds me of Julian Cope back during his gonzo Dark Orgasm phase. The bracing full blooded production, coupled with the energetic playing gives the album a lot of propulsive energy, that it seems over too soon. I think that's a good thing, as it never seems to drag. Definitely worth a listen, even if it does seem to be aiming to appear like some lost Nugget.
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