I had (a thankfully pretty minor case of) covid this week, so there wasn’t much to do but sit around and get stoned, which led me to revisiting some of Gorilla Vs. Bear’s old AOTY lists. The GvB peeps specialize in indie stoner music, and I found a familiar name I hadn’t thought about in a while – Pure X! The dudes from Austin have 4 full-length albums, with 2014’s Angel – their first and only LP on Fat Possum – being my favorite.
This week we say RIP Gary Wright, whose iconic 70s soft-pop smash “Dream Weaver” is echoed here in “Fly Away with Me Woman” – silky smooth! It’s no secret by now that I like chill music. And holy shit! Angel makes Phish sound like Iron Maiden. From the jump the vibe is gentle and relaxing, “Starlight” is just a real mellow jam. “Livin’ the Dream” dips a bit deeper into psych-rock, but it’s still exceptionally chill. (Stuck in my room with covid… now that’s what I call livin’ the dream!) “Rain”, with its slo-mo fuzz buildup, also produces a bit of a different vibe.
A huge highlight comes during the synth and strings in the back half of “Every Tomorrow”, one of the best and sweetest songs here. There’s also a nice turn of phrase in “White Roses” – “Turn the music up / Let the flowers bloom”. Kinda sounds like a Grateful Dead lyric! Hell yeah. They should consider playing this album at my dentist’s office. It would be way more relaxing than the John Fogerty covers or whatever the hell’s going on there.
Listen to Angel here.
good singing gum 