“Is Forming” is the latest release by The Crystal Teardrop, an outstanding English quintet based in Stoke On Trent. It’s their highly anticipated debut full-length album, arriving after “Into The Unknown,” “Colours Changing,” Running Out Of Time / Apres Jeudi,” and “By The River,” four singles that vividly showcase their luxuriant sound built upon brilliant ideas and marvelous musicianship. Lyrically, “Is Forming” explores themes such as love, relationships, various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, so it’s a highly relatable material that will appeal to the broader auditorium. Sonically, The Crystal Teardrop combines several different but complementary music genres in order to illustrate such lush sonic imagery. Perhaps garage rock comes to mind first, but don’t be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop, power pop, folk rock, classic rock, etc. The band uses all these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to elevate this collection of songs to new heights while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. They explore the retro sonic aesthetics, mainly the sixties and seventies garage and psych pop-rock, by assembling compositions that carry all the qualities of those eras. The all-analog recording sessions at Tilehouse studio in North London vividly capture that distinctive ambiance, so “Is Forming” will appeal not only to all those longstanding psych fans but also to anyone interested in the sixties and seventies music.
This epic sonic journey commences with “Colours Changing,” a magnificent composition that immediately prepares the listener for the remainder of the album. The lush vocal harmonies, transcendental keys, tastefully distorted guitar works, ear-appealing low-ends, and intricate rhythmic patterns lurk around, creating a memorable experience that will immediately pull you even deeper into this listening session. “Through With You” is an energetic track that evokes the spirit of the sixties garage rock music. The interplay between keys and guitars creates a perfect backdrop for incredible vocal performance to shine upon while the rhythm section brings more than necessary groove, detail, and dynamic to this fascinating song. It’s one of the standouts, vividly showcasing The Crystal Teardrop’s ability to assemble catchy, memorable, engaging tracks that shine with so many qualities. “Borrowed Time” leans towards psychedelic folk rock ambiance, with all those reverby vocal harmonies, arpeggiated chord progressions, ambiental keys, rich warm-sounding low-ends, and intricate rhythmic sequences pulling your listening apparatus even deeper into this luxuriant sonic whirlwind. It’s a moment where The Crystal Teardrop expertly levitate between the sixties and seventies psych music, and they do it with such precision and finesse. The Rain Parade is an incredible classic rock number where all those wisely stacked vocal layers merge together and guide you through an expansive sonic universe built upon hypnotic guitar works, another dosage of otherworldy keys, deep yet vividly hearable basslines, and excellent rhythmic patterns. This track may seem a little bit more progressive than others, as the band explores more possibilities with complex instrumentations. This style suits them well yet they expertly balance between these moments and their signature moves.
With tracks like “Two Hearts,” “For One More Day,” “Into The Unknown,” and “Last Chance,” The Crystal Teardrop explores psychedelic music even further. Naturally, each composition differs from another yet they’re somehow connected by the invisible thread that keeps them as a whole. Together, they represent a calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal sonic journey through the beautiful world of psychedelic music. Whether dominantly leaning towards psych-pop aesthetics, implementing more rock intro to the core of these songs, or even introducing some world music elements, all these tracks are highlights you surely don’t want to miss. These are essentials for any true psychedelic music fan who craves cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed sixties and seventies music with subtle qualities that meet all the trends of music production. Don’t get me wrong, The Crystal Teardrop stay true to those retro sounds. The modern production only emphasizes their impressive ideas and musicianship while keeping that analog, abrasive, raw, warm feel of old recordings. “Turn You Down” returns to more energetic rock ‘n’ roll waters empowered by a soulful, passionate, sincere, confident vocal performance that elevates everything to new heights. The impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with precision and finesse. These vocal harmonies emphasize everything the band intended to achieve with this track. Besides decorating every segment and instrumentation, these vocal harmonies also contribute emotional depth and complexity to an already intricate structure. The next composition, “Stealing Suggestions,” continues at the same pace but more complex interplays between dominant keyboard leads and themes and guitar works delivered through abrasive, catchy, detailed chord progressions and riffs. Some of the best guitar and key works are enclosed within this song, so keep your eye on this one if you’re looking for an energetic rock ‘n’ roll experience. “Nine Times Nine” represents a fine line between psych-pop and rock music. The rhythm section delivers an addictive groove through equally impressive, vividly hearable, warm-sounding basslines and complex, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. This epic sonic journey ends with a title track, an instrumental closure that showcases all the musical abilities of this incredible band. It’s an artsy, progressive, experimental, transcendental experience worth revisiting all over again.
“Is Forming” is a psych pop-rock masterpiece that will immediately become your favorite record of the year. From the initial track to the last notes and beats of the closing instrumental piece, The Crystal Teardrop shines with so many qualities that you’ll need to spin this fascinating record over and over again to fully grasp their brilliance. Their experience, knowledge, talent, and skill are on full display here, as they deliver a comprehensive collection of catchy, memorable, engaging, retro-sounding tunes that will tackle your senses. Therefore, you should immediately place this fine piece of sonic artistry on your music radar. “Is Forming” is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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