The Jigsaw Seen

 

   Zenith (Vibro-Phonic)

 

    By Dan Epstein

 

    L.A.'s Jigsaw Seen obviously feels a great affinity for the darker side of late-'60s British psych-pop - think

    the Bee Gees' "Every Christian Lion-Hearted Man Will Show You" crossed with the Move's "Cherry

    Blossom Clinic" - but merely recreating the bad trips of Swinging London isn't quite where they're at, baby.

    While Syd Barrett and his paisley-fried counterparts found their inspiration in Lewis Carroll and Victorian

    fairy tales, Zenith harks back to the Puritan settlements of 17th-century New England with its dour sense of

    humor and cold-eyed fury. Guitarist Jonathan Lea's jangling twelve-strings and echoing e-bows conjure up

    visions of barren trees and ghostly apparitions. Don't be fooled by the cheekily retro cover art: this 

    is definitely a record to haunt houses to.

 

 


home