Review, Vincebus Eruptum Feb 2000
HALF MAN
"The Complete Field Guide For Cynics"
Skivfabriken/Border Music - 1999
What a pleasant surprise! From the astonishing Sweden here comes the Nth heavy-psych
group, but this time we can't absolutely talk of a stoner band...
Half Man propose a magnificent hard-blues, tinged with psychedelia and hypnotic
guitars. "Blues Ain't Nothing" starts with a warm harmonica, and proceeds in
a real classic way... Jan Bengtsson's vocals (he's also the band guitarist)
have the upper hand immediately! "Nowhere Leading Road" is presented in two
parts, the first one is quiet and instrumental, the second one is blazing and
with an intriguing vocal line: it's the "manifesto" of the Half Man sound.
The atmosphere a la first Jethro Tull (from the "This Was" era, to make it clear)
is evident in more than one passage. Face the splendid psych-trip of "Two Perverted
Men In The Swamp" with your seat-belts fastened, or you could find yourselves
orbiting around the Earth, forever...
One of the albums of the year... a must have!
Davidew
Translated by
Luciano Gaglio
