Acid rockers the Cuckoos look young enough to have had grandparents dropping acid and flashing peace signs in the Sixties. That said, fortunately, the Austin quartet’s debut EP doesn’t sound like they raided grandma’s record collection and never moved beyond it. Frontman Kenneth Frost boasts a gothic baritone as evocative of the Reagan years as the summer of love, and he utilizes lush, Germanic synths alongside swirling organ. Guitarist David North’s tones don’t fetishize the past, while the rhythm section grooves like it’s heard a contemporary R&B tune or two. Indeed, the bluesy “Get It On” and seething “It’s Too Late” tumble psychedelic rock more by association than practice, and the ambitious “New Sunrise” invokes several styles without declaring loyalty to any of them. On the other hand, “Mind Breakthrough” wallows in a trippy arrangement, wah-wah guitar fills, and lyrics like, “She’ll reconstruct your psychedelic mindframe.” The land of psychedelic rock has open borders and a liberal immigration policy.
This article appears in June 9 • 2017.
