Instant Flight - Colours & Lights (2004)

With members from the UK, Italy and the Czech Republic, Instant Flight have been making waves since the release of their debut EP. Theyve even coaxed 60s icon Arthur Brown (of "Fire and head-igniting fame) out of retirement to sing on a couple of tracks. Brown has also been joining the band onstage for live shows, adding another layer of authenticity to the proceedings, but they dont really need it though because the music speaks for itself. The band sound genuinely sincere about their music Colours & Lights could have been recorded any time in the past 35 years, and that even applies to the artwork and the outfits that the band don on the sleeve. Unfortunately, that same fact does make the music sound somewhat dated and while there are lots of really great obscure psychedelic bands to be influenced by, Instant Flight are leaning towards the likes of Iron Butterfly. So even with only a dozen songs, far too many of them simply overstay their welcome because of their unconvincing guitar and organ solos, which are, sadly, more progressive than psychedelic. Colours & Lights is not an album without a certain amount of charm, but it is spread just a little too thin for my liking.