LA-based psych rock group All Souls appear to model everything based on a simple motto: be efficient and alluring. From their simplistic yet surreal priestess-adorned cover art, to their dense yet not complex sonic choices, this long-gestating group of veterans understand how to craft the type of groove-based and charming that grabs your attention quickly and maintains a firm grip on you. The members met way back in 1994 (just to make you feel old, that’s the year Green Day released Dookie…) and features members of Fatso Jetson, Totimoshi, and Black Elk who took a long time to finally form a group and release this Self-Titled debut.
The resulting record sounds like a band that came together from disparate parts, as All Souls certainly toys with a wealth of styles and tones; elements of psych, garage rock, desert rock, and punk fuse together in a creative and cohesive hole. While a lot of similarly minded groups lose their momentum halfway down the bong pipe, All Souls really aren’t a stoner act. This is more gritty and punkish hard rock with a propulsive purpose than an aimless dirge down a Pink Floyd meltdown. That all gets to what makes this debut mighty impressive; All Souls’ efficient and alluring mission statement is to pump your brain full of acid-drenched riffing and repetitive yet jarringly melodic hooks aplenty. Songs like “Money Man” and “Time Bomb” are when the group shine the brightest; they hint at how All Souls can bridge the gap between stadium psych and basement garage rock with aplomb.
There’s a charming density of sound at play here that belies how simplistic the songs often initially appear, but these veterans understand their way around a damn catchy tune, and they succeed in pumping out songs that get deeply lodged in your cranium. Aside from a couple slightly meandering tunes (the overly repetitive “Never Know” is the most glaring example), All Souls’ mighty impressive debut is the type of unexpected release that is much better than the next over-hyped “super group” project. Just like the priestess-adorned cover, there’s a lot more than meets the eye/ear and a lot to chew on.
