The Legendary Pink Dots
Chemical Playschool 15
アルバム · Alternative · 2013
The Netherlands-based Legendary Pink Dots have an exhaustive catalog that's survived the decades, and their lineup changes to use a variety of musical approaches that don't always match up with one another. In the new century, the collective has often become more abstract, preferring to experiment in the outer "outsider" reaches. This is especially true for their Chemical Playschool series, which emphasizes the communal sandbox approach; the musicians aim to forget the strictures of popular song and aim for a spaced-out, sometimes meditative, sometimes freakish jam scene. The near-20-minute "Sparks Fly/Museum" sounds like what Pink Floyd might have done had it kept working hard on its sound, or what The LPDs do sound like with Hawkwind's Raymond Steeg adding his input to the mix. Fans who've loved The Legendary Pink Dots' more song-based releases may have trouble with the unrestrained experimentalism here, especially since hints of songs still fall in and out of the mix. For those who love weirdness, there's plenty to go around.