Review: Natural Child :: 1971

The album cover for Natural Child's debut record 1971 sets the tone for this vintage and straightforward rock & roll affair. First, this is by no means a glamour shot. Rather, Zack (whose eyelids suggest he just came out of a long meeting with Mr. Bong), Wez, and Seth all look as if they've been called to work mid kegger and are being forced to pose in their parent's living room with the soft yellow lighting producing a warm glow of faded portraiture. I can't see a carpet, but my imagination is telling me it's shag.

Throughout the record's 11 roaring tracks and 30-plus minutes, a hazy time-warped feeling permeates as if the listener has been transported to a house party in the 1970s with pot and cigarette smoke hovering around the ceiling and plastic beer-spattered cups littering the floor.  That vibe is introduced as the growl of rumbling guitar on album opener "Easy Street" is met with a mantra of sorts: "Let me get that stoned / Get me a pussy shot / Get me a girl that's hot / Get me a TV spot / Make my record hot." It's as if to say, "Yes, listener, you're in for a wild ride." And if the bubbling bong in the track's outro or the 4/20 release date weren't clear enough, yes, it's time to break out your stash.