Charge

The Kissing Spell label is a boutique imprint specializing in unearthing obscurities and often candid recordings of incredibly obscure U.K. psychedelic groups of the late '60s and early '70s. While they have uncovered some gems, often the recordings falter for the quality or recording conditions on some of their artifacts. Charge is yet another heavy and explosive guitar-led group with aspirations towards Jimmy Hendrix guitar absolution and blues-based workouts. The gloomy garage ambience of the recording makes for a great listen throughout, and the over worked wah-wah pedal adds to the vibes. Without a doubt authentic, and the jamming gets pretty hot. The dissonant down beat gloom can be hard to handle, but in the right moment this nullifying music can be a thrilling indulgence. Think of a less coherent Black Sabbath in the basement playing folk-inflected mantras and you are getting close to the desolation of Charge. Those who ever wondered who slipped under the carpet in the Led Zeppelin era should look no further than Kissing Spell, and Charged is a fitting addition to their catalog. ~ Skip Jansen