Short Reviews [The Past Tense - 2019 - "Time Stands Still"]

The Past Tense have released a vinyl four track EP, which comes with a CD containing another ten songs (!), and it has been so popular the record label has already sold out so if anyone is interested in this they need to search hard. And search they should, as this EP is a wonderful slab of long-lost psychedelia which sounds if it was recorded more than fifty years ago by a band on top of their form. Fruits De Mer Records, surely one of the finest and certainly most enjoyably consistent labels around, specialise in bands re-recording long lost classics and obscurities, and here we have covers of “House Of Glass” (originally by The Glass Family), “Grounded” (The Syn), “Dream On My Mind” (Ruperts People) and “Suicidal Flowers” (Crystal Chandelier). Although I am working away from home and don’t have access to the vast majority of my music collection, I do have a copy of the original version of “Grounded” readily to hand and must say that while the music and harmony vocals are close to the original, the lead vocals are preferable on the newer version!