Express (Remastered)

Album Review

Rich in sonic detail, the neo-psychedelic Express offers a listening experience like no other album — guitars spiral to dizzying heights from beds of sound, arrangements swirl, songs change and mutate. "Kundalini Express" typifies Love and Rockets' approach, chugging along for several verses before breaking open and ascending into the heavens; Anglo-fied Eastern religious imagery and philosophy predominate lyrically, and in tandem with the psychedelic music, offer an almost quasi-religious experience. John A. Rivers (who also co-produced Love and Rockets' first album) outdoes himself with the sound on this disc, offering a huge, unique canvas for the band to paint its sound on: crystalline acoustic guitars cut through thick, distorted tones, and the bass is an equal player to the guitars and drums. "Yin and Yang the Flower Pot Man" is ecstatically upbeat, offering a propulsive rhythm, flailing guitars, and insistent bass — a compulsively danceable and bliss-inducing track. "An American Dream," meanwhile, is an anthem of sorts, with distinct sections setting apart the moods of hope, disillusionment, and acceptance.