The Galileo 7 have just released their brand new album “False Memory Lane” on Fools Paradise Records and it is crammed full of melodic Psychedelic Pop nuggets that are a worthy addition to the timeline and heritage of the best of great British Psych, Freakbeat, Garage Rock and Power Pop. From Syd Barrett to Julian Cope, from The Kinks to XTC, The Beatles to Teenage Fanclub, follow the flow from Eel Pie Island via the Hammersmith Clarendon of The Playn Jayn upstream to The Medway and (of course…) The Prisoners – “False Memory Lane” continues in this fine tradition. I said “of course” when I mentioned The Prisoners as The Galileo 7 are the Medway legends’ bassist Allan Crockford’s very own band. Indeed, after playing an important, but less high profile, role as bassist in The Prisoners, The Prime Movers, The Solarflares, James Taylor Quartet and The Stabilisers, Allan now takes centre-stage as the main singer songwriter and guitarist with Galileo 7 and the good thing is that he has collected around him a great band that all stamp their character on the album. It’s probably true that Viv Bonsels diverse keyboards and organ are the signature sound of The Galileo 7 and there’s excellent drumming from Russ Baxter and fluid melodic bass from Mole of The Mystreated and The Higher State add that all important ingredient to the mix.

First of all, the album automatically gets an extra star – if we did star ratings that is – as the official press release mentions The Soundtrack of Our Lives and, as eagle-eyed fans will already know, this Blog is named after our favourite track by the much-missed Swedish Psychedelic Rockers. No, strangely enough it’s not called Retro Man because we are nostalgic retro-obsessed grumpy old gits…well, actually, now you come to mention it…! Anyway, I hadn’t really thought about it but on the second track, “My Cover Is Blown”, the similarities with TSOOL are there, the song has a slow burning melody with a swirling organ that suddenly bursts into life at the chorus. It’s a really great song that Ebbot and Co. would have been proud to have written. But I’ve jumped a track, the needle must have slipped, let’s go back to the opening song, “Don’t Follow Me”, which we played as a pre-release exclusive in Episode 13 of Retrosonic Podcast, and it’s a perfect album opener that lays down a marker for what is to come. One of my highlights of the album “You’re Not Dreaming”, is slow paced with an insistent guitar riff that nags it’s way into your brain and will stay lodged in there for a long time to come. The title track is a pastoral little number with no bass or percussion, just acoustic guitar, atmospheric keyboards and heavily reverbed hand-claps.

“Nobody Told You” has a baroque harpsichord intro that conjures up The Left Banke but then bursts into a swinging “ba-ba-ba-da-ba” chorus and ends with some nice fuzzed-up guitars. “Don’t Know What I’m Waiting For” is another highlight, an up-tempo rocker with some nice West Coast harmonies that veers into that Primitives bubblegum rock field and this is followed by the excellent “I’m Still Here”, which is probably the album’s centre-piece for me. It’s a wonderfully composed track that offers a positive take on the perils of getting older, “I’m still here saying the things you don’t want to hear”. There’s some lovely guitar work on this uplifting track and I love the little aside, “I don’t want to hide the twinkle in my eye”. The album’s closing track “Little By Little” has a heavily distorted riff, thudding drums and sinister half-whispered vocals that bring The Creation to mind, it’s a great way to end a thoroughly satisfying, brilliantly realized album.

The vinyl version of “False Memory Lane” comes with a free three track CD entitled “Mere Self Anomaly” plus download codes for the MP3 version. It’s available to order from The Galileo 7 on-line store here. Or if you can always buy a copy at the Retro Man Blog “Medway Night” at The Half Moon Putney on June 06th, where the band will be on the bill along with The Len Price 3 and Graham Day & The Forefathers, with Allan making another appearance but this time on bass!

You can hear the album’s opening track “Don’t Follow Me” in Episode 13 of Retrosonic Podcast along with tracks by Thee Mighty Caesars, The Prisoners, Otis Clay, Fogbound, The Chocolate Watchband, Ebbot Lundberg & The New Alchemy, The Clique, The Sonic Jewels and much more…