SubArachoid Space: These Things Take Time

Jimi Hendrix. That’s the very first thing that came to my mind as I was listening to groovy trip-rockers SubArachnoid Space’s latest release These Things Take Time. The CD is a sonic acid flashback, and when I closed my eyes real tight I could almost swear I was listening to Jimi, Noel, and Mitch in one of their drug-induced instrumental jams. The rhythm section of Andey Stephens on Bass and Chris Van Huffel on Drums definitely brought out memories of days gone by; Van Huffel pounds away with reckless abandon while Stephens just glides along with super slick bass lines that drive the song forward. However, the real stars of this show are guitarists Melynda Jackson and Mason Jones whose string-bending straight-from-the-gut guitar chops put me in a sonic trance that I was quite happy to be in. This is music that feeds your mind if you just let it flow...

Although the Hendrix influences are readily apparent on all the tracks here, they are especially noticeable on the first four – the opener, the aptly titled “A”, the band hits such a dreamy groove that I almost found myself donning a headband and pouring lighter fluid onto my CD player. Jackson and Jones’ guitars simply smother the proceedings with feedback, spacey sounds, and straight-up blues jams that are sure to please. This and the next three tracks had me just laying back and soaking in the six-string assault on my senses – and loving every minute of it!

Starting with the track “E”, the band takes a slight detour away from Hendrix-like jams (although the influence is still heard), and moves more toward a Porcupine Tree style space rock numbers that are every bit as satisfying as the earlier tracks. Jones’ theremin makes an appearance on “E” that almost gives the track an Indian-style flavor to go along with its spacey foundation. The album closes with an ambient number titled “G” (I sense a pattern here...), which nicely brings to a close the mind-altering experience that is These Things Take Time . All fans of acid-rock and smoking guitar jams should rush to their nearest prog shop and pick up a copy of SubArachnoid Space’s latest. These folks tastefully borrow from the past in order to propel their music towards the future, and they do so with total success. Very well done.

More information on SubArachnoid Space can be found at http://www.subarachnoid.com