Golden Dawn Arkestrsa

Children Of The Sun

The Texan psych-funk collective fails to freak out.

From The Polyphonic Spree through to David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, Texas has proved to be a fertile ground for all manner of cults and sects. So it comes as little surprise that Golden Dawn Arkestra come from the Lone Star State. With their allusions to occult and esoteric studies, and the cosmic and fully whacked out explorations of interstellar jazz pioneer Sun Ra, the group’s fusion of funk, jazz and psychedelic wig‑outs should be just the ticket for both mind expansion and separation of arses from seats.

Alas Children Of The Sun, the third album from this multi‑ coloured collective, is somewhat more prosaic. It’s not difficult to imagine that the riot of sound and visual stimulus delivered by the band is a feast for head and hips in the live arena, but bottling that genie has proved irksome here.

All too often the album suffers from a search of identity, with Golden Dawn Arkestra not quite able to decide if they’re paying homage or trying to drive forward. Lovely Day defers to Dr John, the title track underwhelms despite its best intentions, while the garage rock of The Wolf is jarring. All told, an album obscured by clouds.