It's common to see today bands playing old musical genres, and not only in Rock 'n' Roll. In reality, since Grunge Rock arose in the 90's, people discovered that they can play whatever they want, and it's just a matter of having personality to make things gain life. This is what separates a good act from a copy, and today, the copies are losing the game more and more. And it's good to hear an album as "Me and My Bellbottom Blues", the third full-length of the Japanese quartet SONIC FLOWER. The band, in reality, is a side project of Tatsu Mikami (bassist of CHURCH OF MISERY), but here being an abrasive form of Psychedelic Rock with influences of Stoner Rock, full of groove and that greasy energy of the past, but with an actual outfit.

Instead of many that lay their musical efforts on repeating again and again the rode clichés of the genre, the music of the quartet sounds alive, solid as a rock, full of energy and obviously with a massive weight similar to BLACK SABBATH on its early days, but always with a melodic care in the arrangements. Yes, it's a very good experience to hear such form of music. In the mixing, the hands of Yukito Okazaki created an abrasive and organic sonority (one can check that no rhythm guitar is under the solos), but always having in mind that the past is gone, so things are defined and clean, in a form that everyone can understand what's being expressed by the band without any problem, and anyone can take the best of the band's music.

All the songs of "Me and My Bellbottom Blues" are very good, but the right ones for a first experience on it are "Swineherd" (the greasy melodies of this one are hard to resist to, and what good vocals, being expressed with feeling), "Love Like Rubber" (a great song filled with guitar riffs in a 'Iommian' way, bearing melodies, but always with that bitter weight; and what great solos), "Captain Frost" (the shortest song of the album, plenty of Stoner Metal weight, especially due the 'geezerian' bass playing and 'wardian' drumming), "Poor Girl" (again a song filled with a heavy groove, and what lovely psychedelic moments), and "Sonic Flower". SONIC FLOWER really surprises the listeners with "Me and My Bellbottom Blues", so listen to it and let yourself go in a psychedelic ride.