Archie Bronson’s Outfit – Wild Crush

Archie Bronson’s Outfit
Wild Crush
Domino
★★★

The immediate attraction to Archie Bronson’s Outfit is that on Wild Crush, they are psychedelic without being overtly psychedelic. They are pop without being overtly pop. And these songs are infectious with being overtly infectious.

Even though it was somewhat of a bummer that the album was not as juicy as “Two Doves on a Lake,” this album would rip through the barrier of solid garage rock and into the annals of the underground garage hall of fame. The song blows exhaust like a ‘74 Dodge Challenger. The vocals tend to be more free form artistic than greasehead tattoo. And it’s clear from the beginning that the elements that carry the weight is the music. Transitioning with the dime of the hat from road rage guitars to drugged-out flute solos back into a psychedelic frenzy, you can see why this song is a mind blower.

It’s not to say this is the end of the story. They all may not be gems like “Two Doves on a Lake,” but when you get to “We Are Floating” you immediately want to shake your naughty bits about and lose your mind. For two dudes, S. Windett and Arp Cleveland, it’s really impressive just how much these guys fill the sound out. At this point, you don’t really care if they are out of tune or not, this song rocks your face in so many ways you’re freak out becomes multi-dimensional.

Archie Bronson’s Outfit – We Are Floating

Wild Crush kind of reminds me of Her Satanic Majesties Request, not for the song relationship but for the feeling I get when I hear that album. There are some really great songs on there, but there are songs that dip into a strange aura of Stones’ metaphysical philosophy that just does not seem as confident, and that is where “Love To Pin You Down” and “Lori from the Outer Reaches.” The two songs are good in their own context, but they just don’t compare with the other song’s potential. It’s when Archie Bronson’s Outfit gets exploratory in their outreach is when they get out of their realms of what they do best.

And like all great ‘70s rock albums, there is that pseudo-country song that has to be included. For this group, it’s the finale, “Country Miles,” a typical country song from a rock band that shows they can be diverse. The song is excellent, but you must put yourself in the right frame of mind to fully appreciate this exodus from an otherwise solid rock album.