LSD

Cardiacs

Cardiacs' LSD is an album twenty-six years in the making. Band leader, Tim Smith, immediately began conceptualizing the follow-up to 1999's Guns with a handful of studio sessions that would result in a false start. Activity wouldn't pick up again until 2007 where in a rather large productive spurt, Smith curated multiple discs worth of material and the band nearly finished recording the whole album. Then tragedy struck when Smith suffered a heart attack and a stroke that left him with a debilitating neurological condition. The production of LSD was put on hold indefinitely while the band rallied around Smith's recovery. Despite significant communication challenges and the loss of his performing faculties, Smith was able to make enough of a recovery by 2018 to direct the production team through the completion of the record. Final lyrics, melodies, and the vocalists who would bring them to life were selected with Smith's stamp of approval. Sadly, Smith wouldn't be able to see the album through to the end as he passed away in July of 2020. Leaving a clear direction forward, Smith's brother and Cardiacs' bassist Jim -- along with producer Kavus Torabi -- resumed work on the album. After four more years of tracking and post-production, LSD was finally finished.

I went into this record completely oblivious to both its monumental back story and the band's previous work. In fact, had it not been for a friend making a somewhat comedic recommendation based on the title of the opening track (Men In Bed had to be worthy of my attention), this record would have flown completely under my radar. My intention to merely humour the recommendation quickly turned enthusiastic as I was met with grand seventies prog rock that had a dash of punk spirit. I was immediately drawn to the tonal ambiguity in the chord progressions. The loose adherence to a key created a very surreal listen. A byproduct of this is that the lead guitar melodies and solos sounded angular in their attempts to mesh with the constantly developing harmonic structure. The production is just as adventurous as the songwriting as the stereo field is filled with synthesizers, strings, horns, and layers upon layers of vocals. By my count, there are over twenty credited vocalists on the record. The ensembles that they create sound larger than life; really selling the album's grandiosity. The lead vocals shared between Smith and Mike Vennart, as well as a handful of special guests, offer so much diversity in their performances. I feel like the album presents a rotating cast of characters, further expanding the spectacle.

While the sound of the record is consistent throughout, the path the band goes down can greatly vary from track to track. Men In Bed is an epic opener with one crashing crescendo after the next that accentuated by wild intervals in the chord progression. The May is a punk carnival ride with sinister, doubled vocals and tons of trilling instrumentation in between phrases. Woodeneye goes even harder with some shouted vocals in the verse and an exhilarating chorus where the key keeps escalating. Spelled All Wrong is a slower, dreamier moment that teeters on both extremes of the emotional spectrum. The choir vocals are very prominent, giving the track a mythical air. I also really like the peppy guitar solo on this track; the noodly melodic lines are responsible for the brightest moments on the track. By Numbers has a stark musical contrast between the muscular punk passages driven by "HOY" group chants and the Romantic-inspired instrumental sections where guitars and pianos playfully dance in unison.

The album continues to flex it's musical diversity with experimental tracks like Skating, a surreal composition with a number of jarring detours that mash sci-fi futurism, stereotypical surf, and jazz fusion among other things. The jazz fusion passage in particular is nutty with all the instrumentation playing dizzying runs tightly in unison. By comparison, Busty Beez is the most minimal; a sprawling, meditative, instrumental jam with overwhelming orchestration and ghostly operatic vocals. Despite not having very much instrumental development over the course of its nine minute runtime, it still perpetuates the illusion of rising action. Volob injects a little new-wave into the mix with its synth-forward, syncopated jabs and dance beat. This track has another banger chorus with more crescendos accented by majestic horns. To maintain a little mystery, I will refrain from being too exhaustive. Although, believe me, this album has so much more fantastic material to dive into.

If I had to put on my critical hat, there's a couple small things keeping LSD from being perfect to me. On a technical level, Gen suffers a little from inconsistent energy, especially during the guitar solo section. I would also say that the vocal melody on the verse to Lovely Eyes is tiresome. And Lastly, at eighty minutes in length, the album may be just a tad too long. If not a little more curation, the tracklist could've been restructured as the energy seems to peak at Busty Beez before coasting gently over the final six tracks. On the other hand, this is the last of Tim Smith's material we will likely hear. Therefore, I can understand the desire or the necessity of putting it all out there from a closure standpoint. Aside from these few minor things, every aspect of this record is really impressive and a joy to listen to. I find it even more endearing when you consider the album's storied history. Not only did everyone involved come together to see this project through to the end -- in spite of all the adversity -- I believe they did it in a way that maintained the integrity of Smith's vision. I can imagine it being an incredibly delicate responsibility and it's clear when listening to this that they executed with the utmost care. As far as swan songs go, you can't get much more beautiful than this. I think Tim Smith would be proud.