By RYAN O’MALLEY
Music & Movies Editor, SNSPost
Founder, OMALLEEZALLEY

Little-known Cardinal formed in 1994 when Australian-Welsh musician and part-time trial attorney Richard Davies met Oregon-native Eric Matthews in Boston of all places. Read their Fire Records bio and you might get the idea the duo has transformed popular music as we know it. Listen to their sophomore effort (is that what you’d call a second album with an 18-year gap since the first?), Hymns, and you more get the feeling these are two guys who really like 60’s psychedelic rock and want to bring it to the new millennium.

The first track, “Northern Soul,” while not an attention grabber, at least gives you a taste of what they’re out to do. From there the album is a good throwback to that “chamber rock” of the 60’s. Untraditional and sometimes unintelligible lyrics are colored with a chorus of vocals. Add some horns, strings and even the occasional harpsichord and you might as well be listening to The Who, Pink Floyd or David Bowie. In fact, “General Hospital” could be a missing track off Tommy. “Surviving Parts” is practically right out of Floyd’s “Atom Heart Mother Suite.”

There isn’t necessarily one outstanding track on Hymns, but most have some amount of appeal. Matthews definitely has an ear for taking something simple and arranging and constructing it into a finished product that is layered and deep. Their instrumental skills aren’t flashy or jaw-dropping, but they clearly understand the importance of subtlety. The harmonies and vocal effects are calming, but at times feel overdone. The breathy “Her” is a good example. Not everything needs to have the Roger Waters effect.

As a whole, Hymns comes across as a mellowed-out tribute to those iconic bands of the psychedelic era. There is some inventiveness, but for anyone who’s a fan of that era, the album mostly serves as a reminder of how good things were. The biggest take away from Hymns seems to be a question. Who are these guys? What exactly is their point? Is this just for fun or are they serious? Clearly a lot of time and effort was put into Hymns, but why? Are they making a go of it? Should we expect more in another 18 years, are we going to get something completely different or even anything at all? Who knows. In the meantime, dust off the VW, grab some Timothy Leary and take a trip back.

Rating
Overall: 3/5
Originality: 3/5
Production: 4/5
Listenability: 3/5