Defy Domestication

A few days ago, a friend gave me a “Grow A Buddha” she’d found in a little hippie shop in a seaside Rhode Island town. I must have spent hours marveling at the tan figurine as it grew to 600% its original size. So, it seems coincidental later that evening I would be reviewing – and listening to on constant repeat long after this critique was finished - a band called Red Plastic Buddha. Neither the toy or the record evoked any sort of religious experience but Sunflower Sessions, the bands debut record released on Spade Kitty Records, was a pleasant surprise.

The album cover looks like someone took the 1966 artwork of Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators and transplanted Buddha in the middle strapped with an electric guitar. Creating spacey psychedelic music is a difficult craft; I’ve suffered through many novices that crash and burn while trying to send listeners drifting in a mellow soundscape. The guys of RPB, however, accomplish this beautifully by taking the groove to all the right places.

Sunflower Sessions only clocks in at 33 minutes, but it showcases the bands versatility as they bounce from light melodies to heavy bass-driven tracks. This balance shines through most notably in the albums final two songs, a hook driven pop track called Over and Over then followed by the darker, aptly named Gingerbread Pornography. Red Plastic Buddha reminds me of a psychedelic version of Sound Team, the buzz band of 2006. And if you’re deterred by the fact that the uber-snobby critics at PitchFork despise Sound Team, well, then shame on you. You’ll also notice some the influences of Early Pink Floyd records, Brian Jonestown Massacre, and The Zonbies in Sunflower Sessions, but I think the best thing I’ve heard in terms of their sound is a quote from their biography which reads, “Maybe this is just what dreamers sound like.” Cheers to the dreamers. I hope I get to catch the band on the road for a live show at some point, as I would imagine they’re likely to break into a mid-set impromptu jam session that would be sure to send even the most self-conscious listener into a melodic sway. Either way, Sunflower Sessions, the debut from Red Plastic Buddha, is sure to spread far beyond the burgeoning psychedelic underground of their native Chicago.

Check out their video!