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Bob Bryden and Long Day Journey
Love in the Atomic Age
(independent) - 2021
Michael Panontin
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"We wanted to make something completely shamelessly idealistic."
You would expect nothing less from Bob Bryden, the granddaddy of Canadian psych-rock and the man behind such highly collectible bands as Reign Ghost, Christmas and the Spirit of Christmas. And Love in the Atomic Age, his latest endeavour as Bob Bryden and Long Day Journey, is indeed that and more. The two-disc set is both a sprawling concept album and a guitar-heavy panoply of crunching chords, trippy acoustic interludes and searing "surfpsychfuzz" solos.
Which should surprise no one given that two-thirds of this trio - Bryden and fellow traveller Rory Quinn - are guitarists with a decidedly lysergic bent. "Love in the Atomic Age came as a result of Rory and I following up our rather ramshackle 2018 release, Abandoned Songs & Living Room Jams," Bryden explained to CM. "But it quickly took on a life of its own. With me - and Rory's incredible anachronistic sixties mentality - it morphed into a double LP with heavy 1960s over and undertones."
Love in the Atomic Age is indeed rooted in the past, almost unapologetically so, and those well versed in Bryden's earlier work will find much to chew on, specifically a searing post-psych reminiscent of his Christmas days. Bryden and Quinn clearly share a common vision, from their deft rhythm/lead guitar interplay to the peace-and-love-uber-alles lyrical theme coursing throughout. For Bryden, that alchemy verges on the uncanny: "I sometimes think Rory's my long lost son or brother!"
That said, some of the album's stronger tracks are grittier ones like the two-minute backwoods blast of 'We Can't Ask Alice' or the explosive 'Attack of the Strawberry Catapult Men', which could almost be an outtake from Julian Cope's excellent 20 Mothers set. Others, like the two-part 'Aquarius Fayre' / 'Destroyer of Worlds Pt. 2', are sweetened by the group's bassist/multi-instrumentalist Katie Iarocci (ex-Saffron Sect), whose flute here adds a near-mystical touch to an otherwise straightforward prog-psych workout.
And if you were thinking that Love in the Atomic Age must be a thing to behold on 12" vinyl, you would be absolutely right. Not just for the strikingly brilliant cover art, but for the serendipity behind it. Bryden, as it happens, found the 20"x16" painting tossed aside at the curb on recycling day. "I could scarcely believe that anyone could throw out something so vivid and explosive," he recalls. "I was immediately struck by its flower-power motif. As soon as I saw it I said, 'That is our album cover'. It spoke of the sixties vibe we were going for and it gelled perfectly with our working title and eventual subtitle Abandoned Songs & Living Room Jams Vol. 2."
Bryden would later plaster the neighbourhood with posters in a desperate attempt to track down the artist behind the mysterious painting. Thus far, he has had no luck. "As of this writing, we still don't know who or why."
To which the inveterate musician replies, quoting Da Vinci, "Art is never finished, only abandoned."
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