Believe it or not ladies and gents, but I have never touched a drug in my life. Okay, besides booze. Nobody's a saint. But tonight for the first time, my ears took acid. At least that's how it felt. For today I had the humbling honor of taking an early look at the debut record of The John Michie Collective. High Vibrations is set to release on February 12th of the new year, but this lucky son of a bitch got to dig into it a couple months early.
The album is quite the auditory tome - 14 tracks all recorded by the one man band John Michie himself. Not an easy feat to write and record so many unique tracks all by yourself. So kudos to you sir for the accomplishment. But then again in the year 2020 I suppose we're all a one man band are we not? John couldn't have met with his band even if he had one, else they'd have to seat 6' apart and quarantine for 2 weeks after recording a track.
The album opens with "The Mothership," a nearly 3 minute instrumental which leaves listeners feeling as though they had been mind-fucked by an alien. And I mean this in the best way. Admittedly it takes me a minute before I really get into it, but once I'm hooked, I'm hooked. I was surprised at how perfect of an album appetizer it was.
The tracks that follow make it clear to me that John Michie's primary instrument of choice is the guitar, for that is where you will hear the most variance and unique riffs. The percussion and other instruments are nice additions by all means, but their rhythms are kept very simple and rudimentary so as not to overshadow the guitar. He accurately calls himself a psychedelic songwriter, and the psychedelia comes almost entirely from his guitar. It's the slow break in the guitar where the backing instruments can really shine and mellow out your aural trip. The second half of the record is very instrumental, which I've never been into really, but it somehow works here.
Truthfully, I liked this album a whole hell of a lot more than I thought I would. That is not meant to sound like a dig at the John Michie Collective, but I have to make my distaste for psychedelic rock known. That said, Michie nails it. He has a truly enjoyable listening experience here, even for the sober audience. His vocals are a little drowned out by the instruments for my taste, but this was by design as he wanted to feature the guitar more than his voice. The effect his vocals are recorded with a very typical for the indie psych rock artist, but they work rather well in this case. If I could say one thing that I would change, it would be to ditch the staticky samples that begin each track. They take me out of the trip and I don't want to lose touch every 4 minutes. Once I'm in, I want to stay in. I'm sure these samples are used on purpose, perhaps to add to the overall message or experience, but it's lost on me. Full disclosure I found myself ignoring them each time.
All in all I have to congratulate The John Michie Collective for the impressive feat accomplished here. He wrote and recorded an entire full-length one man band solo album and got it ready for release, all in one of the worst years in human history. And what did I do? I sat on my ass and wrote about it.
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