I was reading the weather report today, and it said that it was going to rain anywhere within twenty miles of Davis, CA. So I turned to my friend Herbie, because we were going to get high and buy a few llamas down in Davis, and I said, "Before you put your John Hancock down on the llama purchase form, you'd better get your raincoat." And he replied, "Oh, no! I left it in my stereo lab back at home. I'd better call my roommate, John." But when he called, he found that he'd gone off to McEntire's pub. So we shrugged, called off our plans, and decided to listen to Imitation Electric Piano.

"How odd," I remarked, after a couple of songs. "Does this remind you of anything?"

See, electric piano isn't the only thing that's imitated by this jazzy instrumental quintet, fronted by guitarist-- and Stereolab bassist-- Simon Johns. From the EP's misleadingly (and ironically?) titled opener, "Progressive Rock," a quiet, percussive pulse, a driving fuzz-bass figure, trembling Rhodes chords, and a wandering trumpet introduce themselves in a not so silent way. Like most of the five tracks here, the opener has two clearly defined halves which work together without sounding disjointed, and it strongly recalls the late 60's work of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Joe Zawinul.

And yet, as much as it inspires me to go and put on the seminal fusion classics, it really gets good by "The Sidecar Register," incorporating the post-lounge vibe of Stereolab and the High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan into the jamming fusion atmosphere. Ashley Marlow's drums roll and crash impressively, anchoring the 6/8 groove; Andrew Blake's co-anchoring bassline shifts seamlessly with melodic changes; Nick Wilson's trumpet handles the melody, hovering just slightly above the ensemble's groundwork; and Johns' electric guitar takes a rhythmic stance on the first half, while making way for languid acoustic accompaniment on the second. But it's Chris Baker's keyboards that put the icing on the cake, starting off on some stereo-panning Hammond organ and adding some gorgeous and complimentary Mellotron flute pads.

Through the rest of the EP, the mood alternates between that of Davis-style jazz fusion and that of the 'Lab's hypnotic pop fashion. And by the end, it still sounds fresh enough for plenty of replay value. Aside from "The Sidecar Register," the other standout here comes with the fifth and final track, "Day of the Dinge." Johns' guitar finally gets to shine here. In the first half, he layers a few tracks of his clean and dreamy electric guitar over Marlow and Blake's laid-back, yet upbeat 5/4 tempo. But suddenly, handclaps, a rhythm guitar, phasing organs and a key change transform the song into an energetic pop explosion, which jams for another couple minutes before it simply fizzles out.

Yes, in conclusion, there's enough good and interesting material here to satiate a nice 21-minute EP, and it's a good thing that it doesn't go on too long. Fusion grooves can get tiresome if they're not in the right hands (and post-lounge Stereolab tunes can get tiresome in anyone's hands-- especially now that the once-mighty 'Lab have practically become a parody of themselves). Maybe if Imitation Electric Piano can stick to EPs, their quality will be more assured, but only their future will tell us for sure. As for now, this is a promising start, and certainly a viable alternative to getting stoned and buying llamas. Man, where the hell did I get that idea?

-Spencer Owen