Review from Pooterīs Psychedelic Shack at pooterland.com: This is the third full album release from Babylonian Tiles, who hail from Long Beach California, and are one of the best and most original contemporary psych bands of recent years.
Often described as Acid-Goth, even by the band themselves, Babylonian Tiles do have a very Dark edge to their sound and have a significant fan base on the Gothic/Darkwave scene. That said, their highly original sound is very much multi-faceted, featuring equal parts of haunting keyboards, electric guitar and eastern vocals delivered with interesting and unconventional vocal patterns.
Not all the songs here are new, but Pangea felt that re-working some of their earlier material would benefit the wider audiences they are now reaching. If you are new to the band, like we are (having only previously heard a poor quality recording of a live session on Tales From The Marshmallow Dimention) then this album is a good place to start. There are influences as diverse as Siouxie & The Banshees and The Doors evident in some of the songs, aside from that Babylonian Tiles are a very original band, which is no mean feat considering what has come before them. A reworked version of Boulevard opens the album with flowing vocals building on strong guitar and keyboards. Spooky keyboards and eastern flavoured vocals begin Electrified Eyes which ends up in a drawn out Space-Rock style guitar and keyboard jam. The philosophical Each Dying Breath is crashing drums and guitars, topped with swirling keyboards and Bryna Goldenīs distinctive vocal style. The pace drops back a little for Your Universe Is Creeping featuring some wonderfully retro sounding keyboard breaks which is something this band are very good at, creating an authentic feel but without sounding too retro and at the same time writing some excellent, highly original material that sounds like no other band.
Rain People (my personal favourite) starts with some haunting backwards vocals before opening up into a beautiful lilting psych folk tune, laced with spiralling keyboards.
Next up is an interesting cover of Donovanīs Season Of The Witch, this is given the Tiles own unique treatment of an already fine song. The title track of the album Teknicolour Aftermath begins eerily with atmospheric sound effects before being led into a throbbing eastern flavoured jam. Reasons For Grey, features some powerful stabs of lead guitar and demented vocals and is probably an excellent live track.
House Of Cards is a dark and brooding tale. Another favourite track is the spectral Far Far Away, a reworking of an old song, featuring some wonderful chilling keyboards and driving guitar which dives and climbs, building up to a climax before running into the powerful Crystal Gavel, which spirals into a hypnotic eastern flavoured jam, peaking in a frantic guitar & keyboard laden feast, closing gracefully with the dying embers of guitar feedback.
Judging by this album I expect that Babylonian Tiles are a stunning experience live, which being nearly 6000 miles away is something I can only dream about....!!!
Review from Dark Velvet: This is the latest release from Bryna Golden and company and it shows how much the band has tightened and matured since their last release. The songs still has the Doors-like organ and the batcave goth influences, but each one shows how the band has focused its sound. I still stand by my initial thought that this music isnīt for everyone, but I do think that like green eggs and ham, everyone should try it. Grab a fork and head to it.
Review from Dark Velvet: This isnīt for everyone. Itīs psychedelic 60s music (like the Doors) meets Monica Richards (formerly of Strange Boutique and now with William Faith as Faith and the Muse). Bryna Golden is the mastermind behind this acid goth chaos and she clearly has a vision thatīs firmly rooted in the California neo-psych culture. This music is not goth like youīd expect it to be, but once you get past the strangeness of it all, itīs quite good. After listening to this disc several times through, Iīm convinced that their live show must be incredible.