Afterglow - 1968 - Afterglow

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.75 out of 5

Coming out of Oregon, this band doesn't have any particular innovations to offer, but they do have a groovy, listenable sound. They often skirt the boundaries of sunshine pop, all anchored by a wonderfully cheesy Farfisa organ sound. The band doesn't really have a ton of originality - much of this is aping more established acts like the Byrds and the Mamas and the Papas. Still, they were able to create a very consistent album that would swing at your retro-party.

None of the songs here are particularly bad, even if many of them do go sailing on the seas of cheese and nothing stands out to strongly. "Susie's Gone" is the most notable freak out on display here with acid-soaked vocals, and oddball beat and a melting, twangy guitar sound. "Chasing Rainbows" got stuck in my head for a few days, while "It's A Wonder' sports a pretty nice guitar riff alongside its sunshine vocals. I can't help but notice that "Mend This Heart of Mind" sounds suspiciously like the Byrds "Here Without You." It makes me think that Afterglow may be coming a little too close to some other songs that I'm just not catching at the moment.

There's nothing here that's going to blow your mind, but this is a pretty groovy slab of garage band sounding late sixties sunshine pop. While the date on this album is 1968, I think this music would have been a lot more at home about two years earlier. Still, most of this album will at least put you in a pretty good mood. Let's call it brain Jell-O.