Much of the reason that the
Pure Phase album seemed a tad disappointing upon its 1995 release was that the Electric Mainline teaser EP issued over a year earlier was so fantastic -- its three tracks possess an organic vitality and soulful grit that the overly fussy versions reprised on
Pure Phase sorely lack. "Good Times" exists at the intersection of cosmic rock & roll and salt-of-the-earth R&B, fusing a chugging, hypnotic guitar riff with backing vocals and horn arrangements channeled from some off-planet franchise of Muscle Shoals Studios. "Lay Back in the Sun" somehow manages to achieve exit velocity despite (or maybe because of) a grinding, circular melody that actually goes nowhere, and the two-part instrumental title cut captures the same arriving-without-traveling zeitgeist.
Jason Pierce advises in the liner notes to "play loud 'n' drive fast" -- words worth heeding at all times. ~ Jason Ankeny