Stop Light Observations make stompin’ Southern-fried rock, toasted to a crisp under the heatwaves of driving guitars and overwhelming drums. If “Aquarius Apocalyptic” is any sign, their upcoming Toogoodoo should come packed to the gills with dusty saloon jams along the lines of Cage the Elephant’s more psychedelic work. It totters around on a folk-rocky acoustic riff before roaring forth on the strength of bone-crushing power chords before opening up further on top of a calamitous guitar solo. “Aquarius Apocalyptic” takes its time to start rocking, but when it finally bursts forth, its tremendous horsepower is well worth the wait.
“It was a lucid dream,” says guitarist-songwriter John-Keith Culbreth. “I slipped deeper and deeper into a semiconscious state, like peeling layers of my brain away, until I was a conscious state of auditory and visual hallucination. In this state I heard an incredibly vivid array or random words that kept repeating over and over again being spoken in a mental tone that resembled a preacher reading a sermon of the unforeseen future.”
He continues: “The world is rapidly changing, the Age of Aquarius is coming and this song is its anthem.”
Toogoodoo releases August 26th.