Across their previous three albums (if you count The Three EP’s as an album, which I do), The Beta Band have amazed and confused fans from all across the music world. One thing that most agree on is that the band need to be seen live and that their recordings don’t capture what happens when they get on stage. In an effort to change that, The Beta Band spent 18 months in pre-production for this album before a seven-week attack on the studio. The results are impressive to say the least.

The Beta Band have always been very good at subtly mixing different styles and influences without you noticing. If you break it all down into it’s component parts, this album just doesn’t fit together. It takes in obvious influences like The Beatles and The Beach Boys but also throws in 60’s flower pop, rock, dance, folk, pop and anything else that happened to be lying around at the time. When it’s all fixed together, though, it just sounds like The Beta Band. None of this is strange, it’s completely right. But if anyone else tried it, they’d crash and burn.

Label: Regal
Release date: 12th April 2004

Tracklist:

1. Assessment
2. Space
3. Lion Thief
4. Easy
5. Wonderful
6. Troubles
7. Out-Side
8. Space Beatle
9. Rhododendron
10. Liquid Bird
11. Simple
12. Pure For