What with all the psychedelic rock you hear these days, you'd think the world was indulging in some sort of acid- damaged dirty sock orgy. People must be out there, buck naked, fucking in the streets like it's 1968. Now, even though I don't go out very often (germs), perhaps out there in the real world you Pitchfork readers can fill me in. In here, with my ether and my shotgun, I'm thinking it may be time to leave this sealed fortress and indulge in some hippie swank. But using the Glands' Double Thriller as a guiding point to the party in the streets, I'm thinking my visit to the outside world won't last too long.

There's a lot to like about this band's approach to songwriting. Certainly the boys know how to play their instruments and have the habit of conjuring some truly revelatory moments. Virtually every song here contains a tasty lick, a nifty drum roll, or a clever snatch of lyric. The chorus of the lead off track "Two Dollar Wine" ("Tastes like two dollar wine/ Sounds like a pretty good time"), sung over soaring, spaced-out guitars and Brian Wilson-ish background vocals had me reminiscing about the good 'ol antifreeze days. The problem is that the Glands are rarely able to carry these tasty bits through an entire song. "Pretty Merrina," for example, starts off fairly interesting but then settles into a '70s rock cliche that leaves a bit of a bland taste in the mouth.

Luckily, there are some exceptions-- the insturmental "Sunshine Happiness" with its cool-assed drum machine and throbbing guitar pulse is consistently entertaining. So, too, is the brief acoustic number "Call Me Doctor," which takes the vocals and runs them through a gentle reverby decay effect. Too bad they can't muster these goodies through an entire album. If they could I might start putting hits in my eye and spending some quality time with the new hippie kids. Or something.

-Samir Khan

"Two Dollar Wine"

[Real Audio Stream]