“Yes, surrender to the experience. If troubled times come, let’s embrace it with a kiss, then let go. Very simple.” So goes the wise man as recorded by Sebastian Pringle whilst on a long sabbatical and ‘research’ holiday in Central America. Edited down from a 20 minute monologue, ’Simplicito’

(‘simplicity’) is the introduction to Crystal Fighters new album, and their deep seated philosophy, one that they may have been subconsciously held previously, but was sparked into life by the sudden death of their drummer, and friend, Andrea Marongio, in 2014. While before this attitude to life was prevalent within the good-time, party-on spirit of their music (their previous album was called Cave Rave) this time they explicitly invite us to surrender to the experience, but to always remember past experiences in a positive light.

Often dressed in beach-friendly white linen, fit for the climes of Spain or southern France, beads and beards, and bohemian vibes continue to permeate the band. These guys are hippie in the best sense; nomadic types with an internationalistic outlook, often with their party heads on. But the band work hard at what they do. They ain’t no slackers, their thoughtfully constructed music can be contagious, if you let it. Virulently so, for some and for the most part Everything Is My Family works its magic in enticing you join in the communal spirit, to leave your inhibitions at the door, to luxuriate in their free-spiritedness. That’s not to say it’s naïve good-time stuff. There’s quite a bit of that, but Crystal Fighters don’t want you to be down or depressed. They want you to detach themselves from sentiment (as divined from the aforementioned wise man); to turn your minds and allow yourselves to experience and connect with the moment.

For the most part, Crystal Fighters’ unlikely fusion of Basque folk and upfront dance beats is notched up a gear or two, missing the mark on occasion but often hitting the bullseye. ‘Yellow Sun’ typifies the upbeat, sunshine optimism of the band, a track that begins with arpeggioted charango (an instrument that Pringle learnt while on his travels), swiftly followed by urgent percussion and multi-rhythmic textures, before group vocals come in aided by their ubiquitous two female vocalists, as always an integral part of the bands sound and image. They also hit the mark with the infectiously upbeat ‘Good Girls’, even if it is wrapped up in a tale about being robbed by a girl after a beautiful night together.

Their desire to take you higher, as it were, hits a nadir with an ill-advised detour towards blatant euro-dance pop for ‘In Your Arms’, not helped by some trite lyrics, “Close my eyes and I can feel you here, oh so close. I want to bring you near.” and “In your arms I feel like flying with angels beside me,” don’t exactly expand the boundaries of lyrical sophistication. ‘Ways I Can’t Tell’ also features more dangerously naff euro-dance beats, but this time Pringle reminisces (although that wouldn’t necessarily be sussed by the casual listener) about being together with the deceased Marongiu, “You and me, peas in a pod, me on the geetar, you on the drums.” And their unsuccessful foray into experimental prog-rock meets The Who via ‘Fly East’ – a song based on the ‘wisdom’ of the American spiritualist Ram Dass – is also wide-of-the-mark, somewhat ill-at-ease with the flow of the rest of the album.

Crystal Fighters work best when their marriage of traditional and electronic sounds is finely balanced. ‘All Night’ spells out yet more of the on-the-dancefloor-and-into-the-night simple pleasures of Crystal Fighters (“She was a wild child on the dancefloor. I was dragged into her spell.”) but it reverts back to the more satisfying roots vibes of, say, ‘You & I’, the urgency of the playing is both energising and primal, as the ukulele chords rise and fall, the vocal melodies infusing the song with the infectious joie de vivre that is their forte.

Meanwhile, the dreamily thoughtful ‘The Moondog’ is more philosophical, possibly about Marongiou again, or indeed about anyone and anything. “I saw the future, and I see it all around, because the past is the present and the future is now,” sings Pringle, backed by a big, gospel vocal chorus, and possibly the most traditional band sound on the whole album, electronics at a minimum, the song breaking down midway into Dark Side of the Moon era grandeur. It’s repeated somewhat for the closing track, the deeply philosophical and slow-burning epic Lay Low, a song specifically dedicated to Marongiu, and one which which asks us to to remember how momentary and magical life can be: “Friends I love you so, It’s a matter of time before we leave the ones we know. So don’t waste your time, live life low and grow.”

‘Living The Dream’ says it all in the title. Pringle’s expressive vocal provides the foundation for underlying electronica-percussive waves, a synth bass sitting snugly to the Basque txalaparta, a traditional folk instrument made up of wooden sticks and blocks that has been an integral part of their sound since the very beginning. It’s their juxtaposing of the old with the new that sets the band apart. Forward thinking, and yet rooted in tradition.
Jeff Hemmings

Website: crystalfighters.com
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