Pure X - Pleasure

The sound of the somnambulist - the debut release from Texan trio Pure X drifts by in an opiate haze, offering a slow release from trials of daily life. With ten songs on offer, many of these seem like fragmented cast-offs rather than fully-fledged performances. This certainly works on occasion, ‘Voices’ and ‘Euphoria’ certainly recall an early-90s bliss out vibe, awash in reverb and incoherence. Those songs that do have more muscle to them, ‘Heavy Air’ and ‘Twisted Mirror’ are more reminiscent of a The Doors, perhaps just having woken up from a 36-hour sleep.

‘Pleasure’ is certainly an album for the subconscious, a soothing cushion for any Sunday morning comedowns. At times, you would wish for something more substantial to shine through, by the album’s end, the listener feels as if he has been ensconced in a deep fog for forty-five miniatures. This languid approach does work wonders on the magnificent ‘Easy’ and if Pure X can maintain some semblance of a solid framework for their output, then the real world might not seem so hazy.