The Visibles is a bouncy psychedelic throwback, better compared to Bolan's pre-"Ride The White Swan" era, with occasional nods to San Fran's Summer of Love vibe.
And like Bolan's pre-"Ride The White Swan" era, The Visibles will instinctively get better the moment they discover "the hook" and unleash "the rock." Until then, they remain a Bay area curio capable of smoking it in a moment's notice when they need to be lighting up for a full el-pee's worth of desirable rock tunes.
They get close with the potential lead-single of "The Cycle" before farting around with audio gimmicks and retro guitar tones. It's an enjoyable listen, but you have to wonder how massive this band could be if they'd shape up and put their devotional backward glances to rest.
Still, my favorite track is the closest one to out and out Bolan worship, but what makes "Clarendon Hills" such a joy is how it welds that lighthearted reprise with a very intricate, modern feel.
So, I dunno. On one hand you want The Visibles to rock the joint while a part of you ends up digging their left-of-center vibe that seems to enjoy carrying that freak flag of yesterday begrudgingly into music's plethora of digital gratification.
On the other is the fact that even Bolan was continually working on building his sound and making his music appeal to the widest of audiences as possible.
And maybe The Visibles should be thinking in those exact same terms.
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