Weaving melodies that swirl like the images inside a kaleidoscope, Chicago’s Red Plastic Buddha have crafted an amazing psychedelic debut. The songs on Sunflower Sessions very nearly drip with lysergic influence, and although you'll hear Barrett’s Pink Floyd, Love, the Soft Machine and the 13th Floor Elevators, the Red Plastic Buddha bring a new level of energy and excitement to the genre.
Unabashed studio fiends, the Red Plastic Buddha spent 18 months at Strobe Recording patiently recording this release. The result is a gleaming silver spaceship of sound, bursting at the seams with light and energy.
Chicago Tribune, WNPR's Sound Opinions – Greg Kot
"I'm really digging The Red Plastic Buddha."
Defy Domestication - Trevor Dye
"Creating spacey psychedelic music is a difficult craft. The guys of RPB, however, accomplish this beautifully by taking the groove to all the right places.
... Sunflower Sessions, the debut from Red Plastic Buddha, is sure to spread far beyond the burgeoning psychedelic underground."
Indie Music Stop - CW Ross
"painted landscapes of layered sounds provided by the guitars, keyboards, and percussion parts all intertwined with vocal harmonies that take you back to the carefree spirit of an earlier time".
Roctober Magazine –
"Large, magnificent, powerful rock that defies pigeonholes"
Muzikman Reviews - Keith Hannaleck
"I think bands like The Red Plastic Buddha will help launch psychedelic music's reemergence and you will see teenagers all over the world picking up guitars and putting together bands like they did when this music first became popular. "
Foxy Digitalis - Mike Wood
Chicago's Red Plastic Buddha has a big sound that just feels right. Their garage rock aesthetic, as evidenced on their 2007 debut "Sunflower Sessions" (Spade Kitty), pays homage to the past yet refuses to be tied to their heroes.
There is passion here, with the added fuel of smart hooks, wry lyrics and a fat bottom (courtesy of David Kling on drums) that anchors the power pop riffage. You'll hear retro-organ, psych freak-out, and sweet melodies in every tune."
Daydream Generation – Steven Smalls
"Great band name? Check. Songs that sound like they were written in the 1960s? Check. A big modern production that put the songs in a frame they deserve? Check. Psychedelic enough? Check. Rock & Roll enough? Most definitely check. Pop enough? Probably definitely checkmate. It almost seems too good to be really true."
Indie Music Round Up - Jon Sobel
"Like a Peter Max painting come to life, Red Plastic Buddha comes in colors. With semi-spastic guitar solos that bring to mind early Jefferson Airplane, keyboard parts that very vaguely suggest Ray Manzarek and the Doors, and vocals that range from an intense scream to a distant call, they've really got the flavors down. "
"It's a pretty sweet 33 minutes of dark, retrograde flower power. "
Pop Culture Press – Charlie Sands
"Sunflower Sessions is a fine calling card, signaling a promising band to watch."
Online Rock – Kris Larson
"as soon as the first track came on, I was, for want of a better word, grooving. It's really your only option when you listen to this album. You've got all the important bits: the faintly exotic guitar, the Doors-style keyboard, the seemingly-improvisational song endings that go on for days, and that swelling vibe. Do you know what I mean? That feeling that only sixties music gives me, like something's building up in your chest as the song works up to its conclusion.
"Come on and let it happen to you," croons the lead singer, Timothy Ferguson. "You've gotta open up your mind and let everything flow through." Point taken, boys. And let's be honest: you had me at 'come on.'
Radio KRUD / Hype Machine - Dave Rival
"As soon as I started playing the first track off of their album Sunflower Sessions, I knew that entire CD was going to be an incredible listening experience."
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