January 2003
Dennis Cook is a contributor to Jambase

Illuminated: "Awesome Seduction Record for Your Pillow-Laden Oasis or the Back of Your El Camino"

By Dennis Cook

The first words you hear on Illuminated are:

Honey, ah ah ah
Sweet leaf scent in the air
Sunny, ah ah ah
Eating the flowers in your hair

They don't make heavy rock bands like this anymore, ones that know how to sludge it slow and know to decorate the edges with Sanskrit characters and flowers and a bleeding heart. Think Sabbath on their crazy early tangents or the Zeppelin of "The Rain Song" though Attila & Dave most closely resemble Deep Purple in all their space truckin' glory. The autumn countryside charms of Love and Pentangle also raise up the barleycorn in their fields. Lyrics fall to clichés of gutted fish and turning wheels in a few spots but that sort of simple Sturm und Drang is part of the tradition. I'll take this any day over the relentless heaviness of modern metal. Nothing goes on too long and they possess a good ear for crafting actual songs that don't let their "tremendous instrumental prowess" get in the way. A finer album than any of their forefathers has released in many a full moon. Awesome seduction record for your pillow-laden oasis or the back of your El Camino.

- Dennis Cook