West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band

Not many people have heard of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – I only found out about them because their album Part One (which in true 60's fashion is actually their second) was the b-side of my dad’s cassette recording of Dire Straits – but they are easily one of psychedelic music’s hidden gems, even Sean Lennon thinks so!

Active between 1966 and 1970, it’s hard to describe exactly what it is about the band that is so compelling. Their music combines some of the extremes of mid to late 60's psychedelic music with a pop sensibility creating a unique sound. This combination means that while their songs all have an edge they remain relatable. For instance, even the cover of the Mothers of Invention Help I’m Rock (below this paragraph), which is a truly weird track, maintains a driving beat you could dance to if you wanted to. That’s quite impressive when the song's main lyrics are the words‘help I’m a rock’ repeated ad nauseam.  

Part One pairs freak outs like Help I’m a Rock with much calmer songs like Transparent Day, which has more of a Cream (think Anyone for Tennis) than a Zappa vibe. Transparent Day feels like a floating love song when it opens, asking ‘tell me what to tell you / tell me how high to go,’ but soon the lyrics take a darker turn. Stating ‘you want me for your collection / but you can't see through your reflection’ the song encapsulates the darker side of the 1960’s, coming a year before the dramatic events of 1968. This, it turns out, is not a love song, but an expression of frustration, ‘don’t be surprised when I leave you’ warns Bob Markley.

The final song I want to highlight is my personal favourite from the album ‘Scuse Me Miss Rose. Opening with a guitar riff that propels the song into the verses. More pop than psychedelic, Miss Rose is everything I love about 60’s garage rock. Fuzzy guitar, vocal harmony, and of course, slightly weird lyrics!