Think of everything fantastic about the 1960’s. The paisley. The love beads. The PVC mini skirts. Vox AC 30 amps, Vox Phantom Guitars, and Vox Continentals. Carnaby Street. Oil projections. Light shows. Satin lapels and fitted purple velvet smoking jackets from Granny Takes a Trip. Brian. Anita. Feather boas. Plus, all of the best mind altering substances. And, of course, the music!
Now imagine if all of this, in some form or other, were to be swallowed up by “Rover” (that terrifying weather balloon from the 1967 British series The Prisoner) and carefully preserved in a time warp within mere millimeters of translucent latex separating its contents from the year 2026. If there were any group of musicians who could locate a tiny pinhole and slither into that time capsule that Rover had theoretically scarfed up, it would be The Crystal Teardrop, who claim to be the UK’s premier psychedelic garage-pop outfit. They’ve got the sound, the looks, the gear, the lights, and the attitude. And they seem to have direct portal access to London’s swinging underground of the late 1960s.
The Crystal Teardrop has a new single coming out. Its called “It’s Too Late” b/w “I’m all Rowed Out.” Everything you love about 60s psychedelia is encapsulated in these two feisty two-to-three minute tracks.
“It’s Too Late” starts off with a screaming, bending, and frenetically strumming high-on-the-neck guitar hook that sets the pace. The drums start immediately. They’re quite alert and perfectly mic’d, and they power that fast train you have just boarded with serious aplomb. Maracas accompany the drums like two two steam-churning maniacal pistons. Alexandra Rose Mason tackles the vocals right at the get-go, and she has a commanding vocal timbre that conjures up an impish Susanna Hoffs. The guitars have a great cavernous sound and the backing vocals resonate within the hollows. A nice greasy-sounding organ is right at home with the melody. The guitar sounds vary in later verses with a juddering tremolo effect that might remind you of The Smoke’s “My Friend Jack.”