In both their previous incarnation as
the Pets
and their new collaboration as
the Waking Eyes
,
Matt Peters
and
Myron Schulz
have brilliantly articulated the notion of album as mix tape -- the sheer scope of their musical inspirations and aspirations is stunning, and though rooted in day-glo
pop
psychedelia
Combing the Clouds
is far from a mere exercise in nostalgia, its songs running roughshod over
history both recent and far-flung. Late-period
Beatles
Todd Rundgren
, and
ELO
are the most obvious reference points, but the record digs far deeper than that --
"Gone With a Glance"
pays tribute to
Queen
;
"New Rising Sun"
conjures
Cream
"Tergo Velum"
evokes
Bob Marley
's
"Redemption Song"
; and
"Sunday Morning Blues"
is just that, an honest-to-God
blues
number. (And that's just for starters.) But far from amounting to less than the sum of its parts,
manages to make its affections for
rock
's past relevant to contemporary demands: Even its hoariest cliches are reinvented with postmodernist panache. ~ Jason Ankeny