Faintly Blowing – KALEIDOSCOPE (UK)***

Faintly Blowing/Poem/Snapdragon/A Story From Tom Bitz/(Love Song) For Annie/If You So Wish/Opinion/Bless The Executioner/Black Fjord/The Feathered Tiger/I’ll Kiss You Once/Music

Faintly Blowing was the second and final album from the British psychedelic group Kaleidoscope. Like many bands of the period critical praise failed to translate into record sales.

“Mid-tempo on the verge of laid-back psych freakbeat reminiscent of the early Bee Gees. I like Kaleidoscope a lot and thought the arrangements and performances were very original. The title tune and Snapdragon are the tracks to watch.”

“Look at the album cover, look at the year. Yes, it sounds exactly like you would imagine. British hippies with a lot of drugs, with a bit of a fetish for folk music and orchestral arrangements, hanging out in the mist and dressing up as birds. Songs about magic zoos, wandering minstrels, flowers and dragons.”

“Faintly Blowing could be described as a missing link between psychedelic pop and early progressive folk. The quaint English vocals, classical guitar and strings are mellow and slightly twee, but there’s a true pioneering spirit here, a wondrous serve of serious art. Full of melody, my favourite tracks are Black Fjord and the heart-warmingly whimsical Feathered Tiger, the weirdly arranged title track and If You So Wish, which does remind of The Bee Gees, but with more muscle.”

“I have a peculiar weakness for British psychedelia and this sates my appetite for this kind of music. There is a lot of whimsy, broad instrumentation, Alice in Wonderland type lyrics and studio effects that come with Faintly Blowing. If that is your bag, like mine, then you are pretty sure to like this.”

“Beautifully melodic and quite complex material, featuring strong psychedelic ties, is excellently performed by the band members. Although a complete commercial failure at the time of its release, in retrospect this little gem is now considered a classic of the era and a must have by any serious collector.”

“The sound wobbles and blurs and threatens to topple over in a jumble. The jags of guitar tend to surge out of the throbbing centre of songs rather than drive the actual momentum. The folk tracks are however very folksy and pared down, albeit not without the bleary tinting of an unfettered psychedelic sensibility.”