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The Dandelion

The Dandelion EP

Written by: BV on 16/01/2014 15:46:12

The Dandelion is the new kid on the block when it comes to Bad Afro releases. The project’s creator and sole member, Daniel J. Poulter, however, is no new kid on the block. Having released critically acclaimed albums with The Dolly Rocker Movement (one of which, “Our Days Mind the Tyme”, was released on Bad Afro), one might indeed say that Poulter is a spearhead figure of the Australian psychedelic underground. The Dandelion does not differ greatly from The Dolly Rocker Movement, save for the fact that all instruments have been recorded by Poulter himself on an old four-track cassette machine. The sound is, as such, also quite charmingly lo-fi in its own right.

As the EP opens with “I Turned On As You Turned Around”, it is imminently obvious that it is Poulter who has been at work here. The sound bears much resemblance to The Dolly Rocker Movement in a less beefy way, with an added emphasis on the slightly folk-esque aspect as well. The dual lead-lines of the organ and the fuzz guitar make for a hypnotic, enthralling and most of all memorable listen and as Poulter’s whispered vocals gently place themselves on top, I’m beginning to fall head-over-heels in love with this EP.

Continuing along the lines of the strong opening track, “Here Comes Love” offers yet another outing in gritty fuzz-guitar coupled with melancholic and hypnotic organ sounds. Once again it amazes, or rather impresses me that Poulter has managed to record all this by himself. The EP never quite come off as a ‘half-baked’ DYI project made in some cabin out in the woods ‘because he could’. It feels thoroughly worked through and although the sound bears noticeable mark of the lo-fi recording method, one might argue that it adds to the already rather large portion of charm that this EP has got going on.

Moving on to “Pleiadian Love Vibration”, the sound moves towards a slightly move garage-oriented perspective. Coincidentally, this is also the ‘weakest’ link on the EP. It is by all means still a good track with a really cool mid-60’s psych-garage feel to it. It is, however, still not as alluring as the remainder of the EP as it lacks that certain punch that makes tracks like “Borderline Originality Disorder”, “Here Comes Love” and “I Turned on as You Turned Around” so instantly memorable without a sense of forthcoming deterioration of quality. In essence, I’d love to hear more from The Dandelion and although the project’s main man lives in Australia, I still hold a shred of hope that he will assemble a band and tour Europe so I can have my chance to catch these psych-garage gems in a live setting.

Download: I Turned on as You Turned Around, Here Comes Love, Borderline Originality Disorder
For the fans of: The Dolly Rocker Movement, The Hedgehogs, Dungen, The Golden Dawn
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Release date 03.02.2014
Bad Afro Records