Wave of mutation
(The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope
From Where You Were To How You Got There
(Hackshop)
If you can get away without humming “Hounds Of Love” during “New Language,” this 12-track debut will tumble you through a sonic undertow in an oh-so-English sway.
Kaleidoscope make no secret of a fondness for seemingly every British wave except the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Insistent Kinks riffing pummels “Certain Colour Sky” and the Blur-y “Oh My Mind.” But, true to the wanky name, distortion-based psychedelia forms most of the self-titled album’s groundwork, through the prisms of grungy distortion pedals (“Secret Service”) and acidic mod (“Th’Strangebirds”). Without ever fully embracing the nexus of drug rock, however, there are slight anthemic hints keeping reality (and us square pegs) firmly within grasp.
— Kevin Keegan
