The Boston Globe
August 19,1999
Calendar Section

New On Disc

Abunai!
The Mystic River Sound
Camera Obscura

Anyone who thought that on their debut, "Universal Mind Decoder," Boston's
Abunai! had breathed as much life into spacey, '60s-style psychedelia as
could be expected in the late '90s, had better think again. Fashioned as a
mock compilation of fictitious Boston bands with names like the North End
Molasses Disaster and the Scollay Squares (with Abunai! role-playing all of
the parts), this disc ups the foursome's ambitious ante. "Mystic River" is an
electrifying album of swirling sights and sounds that benefits from the
group's imaginative yet disciplined arrangements. In lesser hands, the trippy
"Vanishing Point" might amount to little more than nostalgic yearning, but
Abunai! avoids the pitfall of confusing excess with inspiration. The best
tracks are ones on which melody and dissonance collide. The galvanic closer,
"Toast" (with its exhortation to "lift a glass to absent friends" - Syd
Barrett perhaps?), is an arresting example. Even standards once covered by
Brit-folk legends the Fairport Convention (like "Barbara Allen" and "Sweet
William") are recast as something fresh.
                                          - Jonathan Perry