Common Saints` debut E.P. – Idol Eyes – was flawless, and the follow-up sure doesn’t disappoint. It`s a rock record really, but its quest for answers to eternal cosmic questions* aligns it pretty tightly to the spacier end of `70s jazz / fusion. Harbouring heavenly harmonies – falsetto testifying – and smart syncopation. Wearing its “hippie” ideals of love and unity on its sleeve. It`s like Steve Miller jamming with Brian Auger. Happiness, and Wild Mountain Honey, Just Around The Bend. 

The title track, Starchild, is a sublime shot of slow, head-nodding, genuinely caring & sharing, psychedelia – a serenade in support for those caught in the eye of the storm. In contrast, tempo-wise, Fast Lane, appropriately shifts at a considerable clip. Drums and keys creating a whirling world of wonder. Its speedy trajectory suddenly switching to a calming cruise, as if clearing the Earth’s atmosphere and floating free of gravity. It actually put me in mind of Joe Armon-Jones` recent self-released spiritual singles. Mystic is David Crosby`s If I Could Only Remember My Name, taken disco-dancing, by concerned and worried friends. Drowning its sorrows in the boogie, before firing off an incendiary freak-out solo. Soaring and shredding through scales, taking the tune close to heavy metal terrain. Dreams is a paean of positivity, rapt / wrapped in reassuring, warm, bass vibrations, where I can hear similarities with Lewis Taylor`s seared psyche-soul, and Eddie Chacon`s strung-out stretching for redemption. The closing The Mystery erupts from a Beach Boys-esque acapella / prayer, and gently rippling piano, into an epic one-man big band blast, that hits like a full philharmonic orchestral punch. This time courting comparison with the transcendental Americana of Jonathan Wilson, classic cuts such as Desert Raven, before getting operatic with a fine Eddie Valen-esque finale. 

Common Saints` Starchild will be released on October 29th. You can preorder a copy here. 

Notes
*Such as why can’t we just fucking live together? Why do we constantly look for, and create, division?