"Enthusiastically Endorsed"; double review with "Tranquil"

ABUNAI!
Universal Mind Decoder

Punk and ska's rising popularity among America's youth begs the question: Can today's youth be so conservative and aesthetically stunted? Still, some young bands have the creativity to reject punk's formal rigidity and ska's inane bounciness. Abunai! and Tranquil give us hope that ambitious American music will continue to thrive into the next century (albeit underground).

The Boston-based quartet Abunai! bring eclecticism to psychedelia on their stunning debut album. Without sounding derivative, the band touch on MC5's incendiary space-rock classic "Black to Comm," Funkadelic's "Friday Night August the 14th," Savage Republic's modal majesty, Galaxie 500's grandly pensive balladry, Spacemen 3's subdued bliss-rock on Perfect Prescription and embark on many more interesting side trips.   Dave Segal