It may be an antiquated notion, but there are just some names that you can trust. Names that were built by years of fostering goodwill and established by years of putting out the very best. If it's groovy rock and roll that you seek then Hozac Records is one of those names. It's one of those things where even if you've never heard the band before, you can look at who's putting out the record and know that you're getting the goods.
And that's mostly the case with The People's Temple, hailing from Lansing, Michigan. Their latest, Musical Garden, is their third proper record for Hozac so there are probably some garage-leaning folks who have been dialed in for a few years now but no matter because just about anyone can get down with the breath of fresh air that flows out on this album.
Two sets of brothers make up The People's Temple and over the course of Musical Garden they whip up a cocktail of '60s psych, glam and garage that comes across as wholly original. For twenty minutes and some change, the group cannily holds the line between paying homage to their influences while still being able to sound new and original.
Despite being constructed as a collection of songs culled from various sessions and stops from the last year, the album has a real cohesion to it amidst all its veritable singles. "Handsome Nick" has start that is reminiscent of the 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me" while "Smooth Moves" features nifty, lean guitar tones that rise and fall that effortlessly as if caught inside a lava lamp. Tracks such as "Back to Zero" and "If You Wanna Roll" bear monstrously cool guitar licks while "I Heard You Singing" comes along a bit slower and more tender and saunters on like it's coming from the school dance scene in Dazed and Confused.
Compared to their last two records, Musical Garden is seen a kind of odds and sods collection. In the press release announcing the new record, the label compared it to the Rolling Stones' Between the Buttons and The Seeds' Fallin' Off the Edge. Listening to the band shift gears and tempos over the course of 13 songs and it's evident that these are four capable individuals who can handle garage rock numbers and glam rock sendups.
It's hard, though, not to wonder if the band isn't still trying to figure out what they want to sound like. Musical Garden is an incredibly confident-sounding rock and roll record, but one that also feels a little like its not quite fully realized. It's been noted before that all four members of the band are involved with writing songs for the group, and maybe that's what contributes to the cycling though styles feel of the album. That being said, Musical Garden doles out enough positive moments to make it apparent that good guys have won again.
