POST NO. 12: I DO DREAM YOU

The short film Syd Barrett's First Trip -- which is exactly what it sounds like, Super 8 footage of Barrett's earliest descent into hallucinogens -- isn't really worth a rental if either: a) you're not into Barrett-era Pink Floyd or Barrett's solo material; or b) you think that psychedelic pop is nothing more than a convenient excuse to get stoned, smack a xylophone with a hammer, and pretend that listening to a guitar being played backward sounds totally awesome, dude.

The same could probably be said about Jennifer Gentle as a band. Considering that they took their namesake from a Barrett lyric that appears in the Pink Floyd song "Lucifer Sam," it's safe to say that Jennifer Gentle has probably already rented -- hell, might even own -- Syd Barrett's First Trip. After listening to the Italian group's domestic debut for Sub Pop, Valende, I'd go so far as to say that they actually know where Syd lives. They've likely visited the Patron Saint of psych-pop once or twice, enjoyed some magic mushrooms with him, maybe even swiped his songbook.

Valende is either the most promising slice of psychedelia to bloom in the oughts -- a rather clever wink and a nod to the stranger seventies -- or it's an annoying, frustrating collage sure to test even the most patient of listeners. That wasn't an either/or proposition: it actually is both things. A majority of the record remains somber and abstract, is mellow at times to the point of no return, and plays up the duo's childlike, spastic sense of disillusion. Personally, the singer's off-kilter voice doesn't bother me, but I suspect I just have thick skin. Check out the brilliant rave-up "I Do Dream You," a dead ringer for The Clean covering Faust at their most playful. Makes me wonder if Jennifer Gentle is really Clinic's weird second cousin. For comparison's sake, I'm also including "Circles of Sorrow," whose pace -- like a majority of the album -- never stretches beyond a belly crawl. It's dainty melodies -- flavored with glockenspiel, hushed vocals, a dreary violin, warm bass tones, and a repetitive acoustic guitar line -- drift around as if buoyed in a sleepy sea. I never thought that I would ever type this sort of comparison, but the song sounds like Piano Magic head-butting The Clientele.

Jennifer Gentle - "I Do Dream You"

Jennifer Gentle - "Circles of Sorrow"

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