Unknown Mystery 60's Group, Vol. I

In the late '90s, the people who run the Distortion label ran across some tapes at a Philadelphia flea market with no markings to identify the band and decided the music was good enough to merit a release called Unknown Mystery 60's Group. The folks at Octopus records decided to track down the group behind the music and amazingly managed to find the drummer, who now lives in Spain. He agreed to hand over more tapes and photos to Octopus on the condition that the group's identity remain cloaked in mystery. The reasons why are unclear; based on the sound of the record, imaginatively titled Unknown Mystery 60's Group, Vol. 2, it shouldn't be due to embarrassment. The songs are OK; mostly folky garage rock with a few tracks leaning in a more psychedelic direction. The performances aren't bad either; they rely on nicely chiming guitars and harmony vocals in a Byrdsy style. The main problem with the disc is the lack of memorable songs; tunes like "Timothy" and "I Must Confess" sound nice as you listen to them, but that's as far as it goes. It is unlikely you will find yourself humming any of them in the shower the next day. Only rabid garage collectors will find this disc worthwhile.