Album Review

Soft Hearted Scientists – Take Time To Wonder In A Whirling World

• 22nd May 2007

Soft Hearted Scientists return for their second album since 2005’s Uncanny Tales From the Everyday Undergrowth with another collection of spaced out folk. This doesn’t break the mould of their contemporaries like The Beta Band or The Earlies but considering how mind blowing these bands are, it’s near impossible. Soft Hearted Scientists take the brooding instrumentals of the Beta Band and mixes it with the space age psychedelica of The Earlies. The albums first track ‘The A470 Song’ is a perfect example of this – a sung refrain about how lovely mountains are is surrounded by Morning Wonder esque Earlies backing, a great opener.

It’s a shame that it is slightly let down by the second track I Wanted You, which is a crisp acoustic summery track that sounds like the theme tune to Postman Pat – sing “everybody knows his bright red van…” over the chorus and it nearly matches perfectly! Apart from I Wanted You which makes me wish I was three years old far too much; the rest of the album is perfectly good indie pop tweeness complete with 1960’s psychedelic lyrics.

Forthcoming single Siberia is a stand out for me, hugely produced harpsichord led romanticism and also Light Years To Nothing, which would not be out of place of Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds.

All in all, Take Time To Wonder In A Whirling World is good album but it is too similar to other artists to be really appreciated, especially as the Soft Hearted Scientists songs really fail to hold their own against their work. If you are a fan of beard stroking psychedelic folk wig out then Soft Hearted Scientists work well but if you are after something a bit different to the rest this sadly doesn’t cut it.