12th Planet are, ostensibly, a blues band, but a blues band with a difference. Despite some traditional leanings, they also have a unique, futuristic appeal that is evident on the album's first cut, "3rd Blue World." Fusing funk, psychedelia, and bruising hard rock,
12th Planet are wholly original and extremely tight. Led by guitarist/singer
Gabriel Gordon, whose vocals are vaguely reminiscent of the great
Paul Rodgers, the band kicks up a storm with a vision right out of an unreleased Stanley Kubrick film. The band has some excellent pop leanings as well, evidenced on such cuts as "Simple Song" and "Magnetism," which, while formed out of traditional blues and pop riffs, end up sounding completely original. Andy Hess and Tony Mason (bass and drums, respectively) along with second guitarist Rod Hohl, provide excellent support on this, one of the finest rock debuts of 1999. ~ Matthew Greenwald