Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – Spanish Dance Troupe
Prog-rock acts such as Genesis, Jethro Tull, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer are most remembered for the often unbearable pretension with which they attempted to mold rock ‘n’ roll onto classical music frames. But they had another, worthier mission: to move British pop music away from the crusty, city-bound, dance-hall tradition, and to find instead a link between American blues music and the folk songs of the European hills.
The Welsh band Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci has taken this one step further, recalling the highland mist and mysticism of ’70s prog while indulging rowdier pub music. Spanish Dance Troupe, their third U.S. release, showcases the group’s liberal attitude on the first three tracks. The whispery “Hallway” leads off the album with an aching acoustic lament (accented by steel guitar, joined by faint piano and the plucking of violin strings). Next is “Poodle Rockin'”, a zany acid-rock rag with a carnival-barker vocal and a chorus of barking, from which the band jumps directly into the doggedly trad “She Lives On A Mountain”, an ode to true love set to piano, violin and trumpet.
The rest of the album moves like a suite, with brief instrumentals and interludes connecting a brisk set of songs heavy on folky ballads, with the occasional psychedelic freakout such as “Hair Like Monkey Teeth Like Dog” or the fuzz-laden “Desolation Blues”. And although Spanish Dance Troupe is on the whole less magical than its predecessor, Barafundle, several songs are as striking as anything they’ve done — particularly the title track, a joyous paean to the adventure of leaving home punctuated by a sweet “ooo-ooo” chorus and the sound of horses galloping away.