Flyte Reaction - Astral Storm: The Best Of Flyte Reaction (2001)

In the wake of the 80s psychedelic revival that unearthed gems such as Robyn Hitchcock’s Soft Boys, Paul Roland, and The Bevis Frond, a young guitarist from Cambridge was noticed by cult magazines such as Bucketful Of Brains, and was praised by them. Mick Crossley, under the moniker of Flyte Reaction, debuted at the court of the Frond in 1991 with a real ode to psychedelia, 'Songs In A Circle', which was acclaimed by critics, and which managed to create an avid following. The next year Splendid Records was formed in order to release 'Strawberry Lip Salvation', and then in 1993 they followed it with 'Spectral Footwear', and in 1995 with 'Create A Smile', which was beautiful poppy psych with that warm analog home-recorded feel. Unfortunately the interest in psychedelia began to fade, and so Crossley went out in style by signing to Nick Saloman's Woronzow records and releasing his best album, the excellent 'Sensilla'. It mostly alternates between slow, folk-infused, psychedelic pop songs and uptempo, rollicking jams, and with the first category Crossley excels, as on 'Swim Around The Moon' and the R.E.M. meets Captain Beefheart 'Observatory Crest', while 'Flow' finds a quiet, philosophical groove, and 'Let It Go' is a heart-filling, nostalgic anthem. Generally it strays a little from the feel of their previous albums into purer pop, but still very much in a psychedelic vein. After a lengthy hiatus, Crossley returned in 2015 with a 500-copy limited edition CD entitled 'Magnetophon Distances', only to disappear again immediately afterwards. To introduce you  to this best-kept secret of the neo-psychedelic scene, here is a collection of some of the band's best work from the five albums recorded in their first decade.  

Track listing

01 Celestial Sphere (from 'Songs Within A Circle' 1991) 
02 Fruit Bat Tropicana (from 'Create A Smile' 1995)
03 Astral Storm (from 'Spectral Footwear' 1993)
04 Water From Your Well (from 'Sensilla' 2001)
05 New Sunrise (from the 'Succour' compilation 1996)
06 Riverside (Inside You) (from 'Strawberry Lip Salvation' 1992)
07 Sunflower Sweet (from 'Create A Smile' 1995)
08 Soul Within (from 'Songs Within A Circle' 1991) 
09 Shape Of Me  (from 'Spectral Footwear' 1993)
10 Seremony Of The Sea (split single with The Ectomorph 1991)
11 Let It Go (from 'Sensilla' 2001)
12 Inner Spaceman (from 'Strawberry Lip Salvation' 1992)