‘For Use And Delight’ by Promised Land Sound (Album)

Promised Land Sound: takes you on a hypnotizing voyage back through time

Although this album of country-tinged rock wears its 60s influences on its psychedelic sleeves, it still makes for enjoyable listening

From the opening bars of first song, Push And Pull (All The Time), the new album by Nashville-based outfit Promised Land Sound takes you on a hypnotizing voyage back through time. Their genre-hopping trawl of the sounds of the 60s leaves no stone unturned as they mine the best of country, psychedelia, garage rock and electric-era Bob Dylan. Rather than end up as a messy reproduction, the resulting record is surprisingly coherent.

Granted, many of the songs feel familiar. The country twang on Otherworldly Pleasures, chiming guitars of She Takes Me There and dizzying extended solo on Within Sight aren’t the most original music you’ll hear in 2015, yet they still succeed. There’s something bittersweet in their sentiment too – perhaps it’s a realisation that they belong to a different time. Lyrics like Oppression’s “nothing really comes from taking over / take it down, break it down” may still resonate, but they have the nostalgic aura of a remnant from the protest era.

Elsewhere, the shimmering Through The Seasons gracefully skips along, gathering momentum as it forges on. Golden Child is the rockiest offering on the album, packed with leather and crunching riffs and North Country Scene drifts like a feudal ballad, carried away on Joey Scala’s pristine vocals. It’s testament to Promised Land Sound’s talent that For Use And Delight is able to sound alive rather than like a dusty fossil or mere tribute album.

Verdict: Gratifying 60s revivalism

Duncan Haskell

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