The Seventh Ring Of Saturn - Ormythology

The long awaited second album from Atlanta's TSROS. Mixes psych-rock with middle eastern scales and rhythms in a most appealing way!

I first became aware of TSROS when they featured on Fruits De Mer Records' recent 7&7 Is box set of 7” singles covering The Grateful Dead. They were good at that but what's more of a revelation is the band doing their own material. Ormythology is the band's second full length album, several years in the making, self released on a lovingly hand-stamped CD. It contains a pleasing mix of what some people call college rock and music of an altogether more Byzantine/Arabesque nature.

Album opener “Burning A Hole” contains Nirvana-esque melodies, lyrics of a decidedly 1967 vintage (“cellophane sunflowers, what do you think about time?”) before nutmegging listeners with killer guitar solos that owe more to Turkish or Greek music than that of your more traditional guitar heroes. This is quickly followed by “Teli, Teli, Teli”, an instrumental which ups the Byzantine ante with guitar flights of fancy that both stretch out and wig-out in equal measure.

“Time To Fly” is a more straight ahead Anglo-American rocker, which brings to mind Teenage Fanclub or The Byrds, characterised by sumptuous vocal harmonies, and power-pop chord progressions. There's still room for the lead guitar to surprise and take the song somewhere new. Time To Fly indeed!

It's refreshing to know that some bands do look beyond the much mined seams of Hendrix, Page et al for their inspiration. Time signatures look beyond the usual rock-fayre, and the melodies are equally at home in a souk or incense filled temple as they are in a western rock venue. A cliche-free and illuminating experience is guaranteed for all who are adventurous enough to listen!

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