California is the second album of original material to be released by the band since they reformed nearly ten years ago. In the time the band have been back together, they have worked the small miracle of being a band from way back when who can produce music that echoes their past but sits right here in the present. All the trademark 'Prune' sounds are present on this album and all the quirky, imaginative arrangements that drew attention to the band in 1967 are here too.
The album opens with 'Sideshow Charade' ,with it's great wild whammy bar and fuzztone intro, acts like an invite to come and see the crazy Prune circus. '49 Songs' has an edgy verse with a sinister riff that breaks off into a hooky chorus that provides relief to the tension created in the verse. 'I never Knew What You Wanted' features a great verse arrangement with layered main vocals and a catchy vocal riff at the beginning. 'Makin Some Noise' sees the band put their own trademark noise onto this Tom Petty song. 'Pacific Ocean Blue' longs for simplicity of a long lost time when Beach Boys songs had the power to make everything alright. I'll Drag You Home' is a bouncy song full of the band's trademark fuzztone and tremolo washes and is a straightforward 'pop' song, albeit a Prunes take on how a pop song should sound. 'Rosy Made Me Crazy' sees Mark Tulin handling vocal duties on this tale of relationship turmoil and has a great sitar guitar riff and some wacky fuzzy interjections midway through. 'Transient Absolution' with it's fragile instrumention and vocal delivery contrasts all else on this album and works beautifully as an interlude at the mid-point of the proceedings. 'Tidal Wave' is as much a centrepiece song as the previous cut and has a cool signature riff to propel it along with a crashing chorus to accompany the lyrics dealing with the biggest event that will happen in your life. 'Rewired' is another straightforward 'pop' song with a bouncing chorus complete with handclaps. 'Running With Scissors' in a way is the song that most harks back to the old days by virtue of the atmosphere it creates, the arrangement and just the general all round feel of the song and therefore is the tangible link between old and new. 'The Rickenbacker 12 String' is very catchy and probably the most easiest for the unitiated to latch onto before sampling the rest of the Prunes canon, an ideal single, but not the most representative example of how a typical Prune song sounds. 'Cinema Verite' closes the album with a sultry sounding observation on the seedier side of the film industry, accompanied by a clattering percussion track and slide guitar interjections.
There is only one Electric Prunes, only they know how to make Electric Prunes records, they're unique amongst American bands of the sixties. They were taking risks 40 years ago and getting chart action in return and although they were definitely ahead of the pack by some margin, this ultimately scuppered the band the first time round. It's reassuring that they have lost none of their sense of adventure and are happily mining their own rich musical seam in the 21st century. Buy this album, you will not be disappointed!
Reviewed by Kevin Wallbank of M100 and Honeymoon on Mars
