Wendy & Bonnie-Genesis

Upon first sight, I thought this reissue was being geared towards the “Incredibly Strange Music” listening audience. Into the initial spin, I imagined this organic record washing up on Stereolab’s shores about a decade ago. (The liner notes do reveal that this been a favorite of ‘lab’s guitarist Tim Gane.) Further listens revealed new aspects, dimensions and layers resulting in an entrancing and enduring sound which transcends any novelty and/or collector-cult factors. This is competent lite psych soft pop with striking female harmonies floating over a musical foundation built by consummate jazz players. The arrangements are accomplished and are most akin to the “Astrud Gilberto Album” or moments of Boettcher’s Eternity’s Children. The bright, breezy and vibrant “It’s What’s Really Happening” sounds like it should have been a 1969 Top 40 AM hit on an illuminated flip-number clock radio, while “5 O’Clock in the Morning” has a chilling contrast of eeriness. The demos are so intimate they are like looking through a sliding glass door into the intangible levels of unhindered creativity. Wendy & Bonnie reveal a wise beyond their years knowingness in “Conventional Man” balanced with a youthful perspective of wonderment found in a San Francisco bicycle ride under the local color and tint of the “December Sun.” “Genesis” successfully captures the innate characteristics of an enigmatic time/place with brilliant musicianship and two sisters who expand the songs to the rarified realms of timeless beauty in the larger context. (Sundazed)