A taste of Scandinavian Psychedelia tonight. I know; not the first area of the world to roll off your mind as a hot bed of Pink with Purple Flashes, but yes, there was a fair bit of aural exploration going on, even in the land of the Midnight Sun.
Blond were probably the most notable of that wing of the genre. First off, they morphed from one of the more popular Swedish Beat groups of the early-mid sixties (Tages) and second, they tried to make a dent in the English speaking market with their debut album Lilac Years, with the hopes of taking their message at least to the UK. The album was released very briefly in the U.S. by Fontana with a nondescript cover and just the words Blond across the top. But sadly, it didn't happen and Blond more or less faded from sight around the end of 1970. But in 1969 there were hopes, and tonight's track I Pick Up The Bus, is one of the many shining examples of a band that has only been re-discovered by way of reissue in Europe in recent years.
One of many-many bands that crowded the Record Store aisles for attention. Thank god for the vault rats who spend hours and weeks combing through dusty tapes and lost sessions. Otherwise we'd probably never know what we were missing or forgot about the first time around.
