LSD And The Search For God

DISCOGRAPHY

LSD and the Search for God (EP, 2006) 5/10

Heaven Is a Place (EP, 2015) 5/10

LSD and the Search for God were formed in San Francisco, 2005. Members were: Andy Liszt (guitar & vocals), Caleb Rush (bass), Chris Fifield (guitar), Scott Eberhart (drums), and Sophia Campbell (vocals).

Their debut EP LSD and the Search for God is twenty-two minutes of deja-vu: warped, trippy guitars and reverse effects beyond some delicate dream-pop vocals. The most interesting it gets is Starting Over, which swaps vocals between Andy Liszt and Sophia Campbell in a way that implies a whispered dialogue.

The rusty soundscapes built through cleaner guitar-tones imply influence from Sonic Youth, although nothing in the EP has the bite of a good noise band (perhaps as a result of the generic "warm shoegaze" production).

All in all, the EP serves as functional shoegaze music so long as you appreciate their agenda. By that, I mean one should emphasize how LSD and the Search for God is made up of deliverable, inoffensive attempts at recapturing the golden age of its genre, from the distant melancholic singers to the nostalgic oceans of reverb.

Almost ten years pass until the release of a follow-up, Heaven Is a Place, which is close to the same length of the last EP, and close to the same general sound of the last EP — complete with hints of Sonic Youth in the harsh feedback effects.

The new stand-out track (Elizabeth) is no match for Starting Over, yet no part of the EP really falls flat either. Heaven Is a Place doesn't try to compete with the self-titled EP, and in a way, that adds to the music's relaxing mood.

One could listen to the two EPs as one and not have any complaints — but as it was for the previous release, having no complaints is pretty much another way of saying that the music offers nothing to talk about, and nothing of interest for those who are looking for more ambitious Rock EPs.