Tenth Planet :: Wooden Hill

THE LAST JAMES Kindergarten (TPSUN501)

Side One

Kindergarten
Better Put Some Light In Here
True Love Fades
Waiting For The Day
The Alter Ego
Explore This Thing "Bout Her

Side Two

I'm In Love
The King Has Left His Castle
Civilisation
Watery (Part One)
Drunk
Watery (Part Two)

Tenth Planet's fearless but ultimately short-lived mid-'90s foray into the world of new music, Kindergarten was the jaw-dropping work of young Norwegian band the Last James. Reminiscent of Smile-era Beach Boys, Magical Mystery Tour-period Beatles and Brian Wilson acolytes like the High Llamas, the album boasts a spectacularly lush production, with swooping harmonies, eerie sound effects, studio gadgetry, string quartets, Mellotrons, Oriental instruments and, most of all, some wonderful, highly original songs. A fully-formed nouveau psych classic, Kindergarten (which is housed in a lavish gatefold sleeve) is limited to 1000 numbered copies.

"An album shining with beautiful melodies, simple yet atmospheric lyrics and a general 1969 West Coast feel spliced with traces of British popsyke. If this album had come out on Elektra or Vertigo it would now be a first-class collectable - a fate that is looming large for a release as attractive as this being confined to a prolific yet underexposed label like Tenth Planet. Man, this is so intense and shiny that it ought to sell millions and indeed, it could change the world with all these awesome melodies and bopping rhythms. A Great Album. In capital letters." (Hartbeat!)