Day Blindness

by Day Blindness

Overview

A typical description of Day Blindness involves references to the theoretically similar but inherently antithetical West Coast bands the Doors and Iron Butterfly, and it does in fact play something like a cross between those two groups, though with none of the musical nuance and aesthetic vision -- and none of the existential considerations -- of the former and with all the unrelenting bombast and sonic pretension of the latter. What it does have in common with the Doors is its organ-heavy, acid-touched moodiness and its dense blues underpinning, though it is unable to do anything significantly innovative with either element. And like Iron Butterfly, Day Blindness draped their music in a sometimes smothering, cerebrum-numbing blanket of quasi-metal guitar. The band, indeed, took their hard rock very seriously, and that leads to a good number of earnestly overblown moments. It also causes the nearly 40 minutes of music to drag as a whole and to dull one's appreciation for their more enticing aspects. And such aspects, though few, do indeed exist here. "I Got No Money" and "House and a Dog" aren't songs so much as chances to jam on blues changes, but each has some commanding moments. And the 12-minute "Holy Land" is less atmospheric or disorienting than "The End" (seemingly its model), but it has some worth nonetheless, though in a vaguely ham-handed way. This band must have undoubtedly provoked some gut-thumping excitement for their live audience, blasting from ballrooms with an accompanying swirl of smoke and a kinetic surreality. The fact that it has been bootlegged attests to the fascination it still elicits. The album has not, unfortunately, worn particularly well (though considerably better than "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"). Still, it provides an interesting glimpse into the heavier, more straight-ahead side of San Francisco acid rock. ~ Stanton Swihart

Product Details

Release Date:	04/12/2002
Label:	GEAR FAB RECORDS
UPC:	0645270018425

Tracks

1. Still Life Girl
2. Jazz Song
3. Middle Class Lament
4. I Got No Money
5. House and a Dog
6. Live Deep
7. Young Girl Blues
8. Holy Land

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Day Blindness   Primary Artist
Felix Brian   Vocals,Keyboards,Guitar,Bass
David Mitchell   Drums,Vocals
Gary Pihl   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

Phil Edwards   Vocal Engineer
Basul Parik   Photography
Roger Maglio   Liner Notes
Tod Preuss   Instrumentation
Roy Garcia   Artwork
Day Blindness   Composer
Gary Pihl   Photography