Call this what you like, a post CD release, or a pre-vinyl release review on Tarbeach Records, so you could say it’s either well overdue, or it’s way ahead of the proposed summer vinyl release. The question is who are the mysterious Thee Effits, I hear you ask? The band is the latest incarnation of the ever mysterious The Electric Fits, the brainchild of Walt (aka Thee E-Fits), who released a debut album Opposable Thumbs back in 2015/6. The band is now, pick your adjective, re-formed, re-imagined, re-invigorated, re-generated, re-born, re-invented, re-incarnated into…Thee Effits and to celebrate this re-birth, have released this six track album in the form of Psychic Coffee Shop.
The album launches itself into hyperspace in the form of the 18 minute epic, Viking Lunar Landings. Introducing itself with an extended intro of swirling ethereal spacey sci-fi electronica, this majestic instrumental bursts into life with incessantly hypnotic driving electric guitars before layering more psychedelic synth sounds into the mix as you picture racing through space with the stars blurring past you, using mesmeric breaks of woozy electronica to great effect before hitting the hyperspace button once again. The whole thing feels like the unholy coupling of Hawkwind and Stereolab. Is there life on Mars? Who knows, but there is new life and energy bursting from Thee Effits. The theme of space and time spills over into Pulse in Time, the signature driving guitar and space age psychedelia from the opening track bleeding into the song to create a perfect partner to the instrumental preceding it.
Heavy on the vibrato and crunching garage rock guitar riffs, The Wrong Side of Hell pairs the grubby grungy instrumentation with a gloriously strong and spirited vocal, with a question we’ve all asked ourselves, “will I wake up on the wrong side of hell this time”. The fittingly titled Reincarnation Blues, puts its foot to the floor once again, the refrain “here I go again, there goes my soul again” kicking off the list of things constantly renewing “new day, new dawn…” but some things unchanging “same soul again…”, the outro bringing to mind Cornershop with the repetition of “born for the 1st time, born for the 8th time…”
Initially, Going All the Way feels like Viking Lunar Landings re-visited, its signature infectious incessant rhythm captivating the listener as you continue on the journey of sound. Vocal hooks add to the hypnotic nature as the layered instruments and electric guitars ramp up into a multi-faceted sonic melee, before segueing into the stylish laid back swagger of the albums closing song, with its single repeated line “I’ve been waiting in the Sun”
Re-energised. I think that’s the adjective I was looking for earlier. Set the controls for the heart of the sun, press play (or the hyperspace button) and head off into orbit for half an hour or so.