Listening to The Keys’ Fire Inside LP feels like experiencing a burst of vibrant, multicoloured fractals blossoming and transforming in front of your eyes. The album is practically a guidebook to the psychedelic / garage sounds of the sixties, scaling The Yardbirds to The Zombies, The Standells to The 13th Floor Elevators, The Plastic Blues Band to The Doors. Fortunately for The Keys, there is a lot more to their music than soundcraft alone. A stunning ear for melody and structural development (Chemistry, Valley Son) reveals exceptional songwriting acumen, in what would otherwise be a masterclass in production. Low And Behold marks a deviation in the album and slight deterioration in coherence. The country stylings of Oh Lord! and touches of shoegaze in the excellent Eyes Of The World requires adjustment on behalf of the listener. However, this is not a major negative. The material remains outstanding. Bloody outstanding.
ST
[xrr rating=4.75/5]
