The Sand Pebbles “Dark Magic” (2011) 

In another time and another place, say the latter half of
the 1960’s, fueled by Sandoz Blue, and other substances heretofore lost to the
ages, The Sand Pebbles would have stood as psychedelic legends, mesmerizing and
imploding across the irises of countless up-tuned faces, lost in a hazy sea of
blue smoke, while mystically channeling the coming of a new age.  And after listening to Dark Magic, it’s hard
for me to believe that the Sand Pepples don’t have a seat at the Summer of Love
table, rubbing elbows with the likes of Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, The
Byrds, and Crosby Stills & Nash.

This is psychedelic folk and rock at its very best, filled
with lush drama, sparkled with brilliant effects, hushed harmonies, and
profound lyrics bordering on the spooky … where three guitars move as one,
creating an adventurous atmospheric exploration for the mind and body, one
filled with wondrous and strange flavors that once released into the ether are
impossible to pull back, leaving me to hang midair as the music wraps warmly
around me.

Or perhaps I should simply say, as a dear friend did, “The
Sand Pebbles should be credited with taking the acid out of the freezer.”

Review made by Jenell Kesler/2014

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