Wellwater Conspiracy 
by antiGUY

Five Star: A look at albums that are so good that they impress even the most cynical of critics. Very few albums are superior enough to obtain a five star rating but occasionally a band slips through the river of mediocrity that is the modern music industry and they produce an album that restores our faith in the future of rock! This series is a look at such albums. 

What do you get when you put the former Soundgarden and current Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron together with original Monster Magnet guitarist John McBain? For one, you’ve got a great subject for a press release and instant hype. But as far as “super groups” go, you can look beyond the hype immediately and get right down to the substance, because this is a band that doesn’t rest on their resumes but instead concentrate on the music and the end result is one of the best releases of 2003. 

Since the band made their debut in 1997, they have released an album every two years like clockwork. The lineup changes slightly from release to release but Cameron and McBain have remained at the core of the group. This self titled album, released by Megaforce records, marks their forth installment in the conspiracy. 

The group evolved from another band Hater, which released an album on A&M in 1993. But don’t let that former band or the members other band’s fool you, Wellwater Conspiracy sets out to make their own name and stakes their own musical claim. It’s not what you would expect when you hear who is in the band and that actually makes the music more attractive. 

You won’t find the droning guitars of grunge here, instead you have a band that harkens back to the late 60’s psychedelic pop and Cameron and McBain pull off a beautiful magic trick by bringing the past to the present. On one hand, the songs sounds like well crafted pop gems but they also carry a jam band feel with a loose easy flowing instrumentation. 

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t 60’s pop in the tradition of “Sugar, Sugar” but instead it’s more experimental feel lands in the territory of side two of “Abbey Road” or the albums tracks from 60’s era records from The Who. 

The opening track, “Wimple Witch”, is a pretty straight forward rocker but the real brilliance starts with the second song “Galaxy 265”, which will transport you right back to the Summer of Love.  The rest of the album takes you on a musical journey that captures that same spirit that made the late 60’s rock sound so damn cool. But Wellwater Conspiracy also manages to interplay their pop inclinations with a freeform feel and each song weaves a bit of a different design onto the bands music tapestry that taken apart really differentiate themselves from one another but also manage to sounds like part of the same big picture. 

With this album Wellwater Conspiracy really standout from the crowd and while you aren’t likely to find music like this on mainstream radio, this is one of those albums that when you first listen to it, you feel like you’ve uncovered a little musical treasure. 

I can keep telling you why you should buy this CD but I won’t. On the other hand, I can’t think of a single reason why you shouldn’t buy it, especially since the tide of music this year has pretty much ridden a low wave but Wellwater Conspiracy have come along with a tsunami in the middle of the rather timid musical storm that is rock in 2003. 
 
 

• Visit the Official label website.
• Get off your bum and Purchase this CD online NOW!

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