The Luck of Eden Hall

A year after the superlative impressions left us the previous album Alligators Eat gumdrops , the LOEH strike back the same – if not more – possible. Unfortunately we have run out of “stars” for this year’s Victoria Moon … cry so perfectly enlightened and sailing in seas high musical enjoyment “credo”!
H-style ‘the paisley underground meets the Plasticland , the Meat Puppets and the Dukes of Stratosphear and together make a splash in wonderland beyond lagotrypa “enlightened pop psychedelia of LOEH do not think that has something similar to the times we live in, when the Wild Thing awarding them deserved the crown of acid pop. All, but all – 13 in number – the magic bottles / songs of this year’s collection are separate artifacts that glow and pulsate stranger than good taste, clarity and shrewdness not to be repeated, but utilizing the unique mosaic of colorful puzzle that now, after 50 years, has been formed in the encyclopedia of psychedelic / progressive / art rock, without any belly, no useless growth – or touch – but with a great sense of economy but ensures the production of a sense of completeness and sound architecture view. All songs are automatically “classic” and few, if God existed, would be placed in singles (“Sassafras Overcoat”, “Queen of the Stars”, “Victoria Moon”, “Zap”, “Sitting Bull”, “Drunk Like Shakespeare On Love “,” Super Phantasmal Heroine “,” Cracked Alice “).
The LOEH deserve much more than being a small independent band or a “well kept secret”. You will find no Christian ever to help them do the marketing and distribution needed? (Pp. idolater and we do). - Wild Thing Magazine

As baffling oversights go, the non-household name status of The Luck of Eden Hall must be right up there. Formed in Chicago in 1989, these chaps have built a sizable back of gems that even the most uptight, tone deaf, besuited major label music executive would have to admit are hits in the waiting. The fact that these guys didn’t have their pick of the major labels during the heyday of college rock vexes me greatly.
“Victoria Moon” is another chapter in The Luck of Eden Hall’s extremely consistent story and contains everything I love about them; songs that combine dense and inventive neo-psychedelia with appealing and approachable indie rock embellishments that ensure appeal beyond ‘genre’ listeners, immaculate production flourishes, lyrics that enthusiastically embrace the colorful end of the psychedelic spectrum (“Sassafras Overcoat”), and effortless hooks (both instrumental and vocal) that most bands would kill for. Business as usual then.
They’ve toned back the buzzsaw guitars of their last album “Alligators Eat Gumdrops” a little and really centred in on the psychedelic details here, the title track in particular featuring some lovely mellotron and a heavily treated orchestral explosion ala the Beatles, resulting in a track that’s halfway between the melancholy of “A Day In The Life” and the Smashing Pumpkins at their subdued but epic peak.
That in a nutshell is a pretty good indicator of The Luck of Eden Hall’s sound – they throw in all the psychedelic tricks (phasing, backwards tapes – you name it), but their songs contextualize these period trappings into something much more contemporary – a thrilling alternative to their peers who often either seem to stick rigorously to the vintage rulebook, or add a whole bunch of reverb and shoegaze elements and called themselves new psychedelia.
“Zap” is another highlight (hard to pick highlights as The Luck of Eden Hall don’t write filler), a concise effects laden psych pop gem with staccato snarework (these guys always get a great drum sound that invariably reminds me of Jimmy Chamberlin’s crisp snare drum sound), a killer chorus and subtle “Good Vibrations” / “Mars Attacks” style theremin accompaniment. And while this may sound like the sort of detail that ensures a specific genre audience rather than widespread appeal, they have a way of making the most esoteric touches entirely listener friendly.
In short – it’s been twenty four years people, where have you been? If you are yet to discover the considerable charms of The Luck of Eden Hall “Victoria Moon” is the place to start. - The Active Listener

Chicago’s The Luck of Eden Hall add another gem to the their sizable jewelry box with the luminous Victoria Moon. Wrapped in neo-psychedelic trimmings from dramatic sweep to ornate power pop poignancy, LOEH keep a muscular and crunchy center intact and active. Much of Victoria Moon overtly tips her hat to LOEH’s genesis in the late ’80s thru the ’90s by simply welcoming in some big rock. It’s no secret many bands out of that pool did the same, and were that much better for it, LOEH included. On this outing that’s been given a bigger spotlight with some of the psych curtains being pulled back, but never put away. The real wizard behind the curtain though is probably LOEH’s even stronger commitment to the song, keeping the pop core swaddled comfy in all the rock and filigree. Taken as one big bite, or nugget at a time, it all melts into a multi-color nexus that’s equal parts camaraderie, connection and unflagging pop energy. Whether it’s in the one-two punch of Sassafras Overcoat and Queen of the Stars, the melancholy haze of The Collapse Of Suzy Star or in the echo-bounce of Blood On My Feet’s ricochet from lush to sombre, LOEH keep a sparkler or three burning consistently. Good karma has the title cut about burning the brightest under the moonlight. Dense, lush and working up a frothy head of steam, Victoria Moon packs a punch equal to any of the others, but wallops with a velvety glove and some eider down. After some calm with The Collapse Of Suzy Star, LOEH are back to the hard candy with Zap, a tight rocker with a big chorus and just big enough bluster. Another stand out—among many—is the rocking Dandy Horse, a ragged and fuzzy romp that laps the competition by mixing in a heady amount of influences (I swear, Badfinger …) and ingredients that seem to grow with each spin. Through the rest of the cuts, there is a sizable amount of spinning continuing, whipped up by LOEH as they seem to effortlessly weave a steady stream of psych pop confectionery, laced with as many colors as there are flavors. Both a stand out and a classic LOEH album, and proof the alligator didn’t get the last gumdrop. - Sunrise Ocean Bender

Chicago-based psych-pop band The Luck of Eden Hall have been knocking around the paisley underground since the late 80s, finding acclaim mostly in the U.K. and Europe. After a string of well-received summertime gigs in Sheffield, Cardigan, Glasgow and London (where they supported The Pretty Things), the group is back on U.S. soil with the excellent new album Victoria Moon.
Victoria Moon opens with “Sassafras Overcoat,” a lysergic trip deep into the wilderness, and the Mellotron-drenched title track. “The Collapse of Suzy Star” adds acoustic guitar and synth to the mix, while “Zap” brings to mind Guided by Voices at their most psychedelic.
The album hits its midpoint stride with “Sitting Bull” and the Anglophile fever dream “Drunk Like Shakespeare on Love.” “Dandy Horse” is a mash note to a bicyclist and the freedom that she represents; “Super Phantasmal Heroine” imagines a party that is both sweet and sinister as “the curtains all were unwound” and “the clock was wearing a frown.”
“Cracked Alice” marries drunken piano to lead singer Greg Curvey’s beyond-clever wordplay, while “Blood on My Feet,” (co-written by Curvey and bassist Mark Lofgren) recalls Pink Floyd at precisely the moment when Gilmour and Waters were finding their legs and Syd Barrett was charging toward oblivion. “She’s Your Anodyne” finds Lofgren taking the vocal lead on a track that owes a debt not only to orchestral pop but also to 70’s AM radio.
Victoria Moon closes with “The Horrible Pill Book,” and everything is wrapped up quite nicely: poetic lyrics, more Mellotron (courtesy of Jim Licka), Carlos Mendoza’s jazzy drumming and a gentle fade-out as The Luck of Eden Hall gaze upon an antique moon that continues to shine. - Fred Perry's Subculture

By drawing their name from an eerily beautiful 14th-century Syrian drinking vessel supposedly invested with arcane powers, Chicagoan neo-psych master-painters The Luck Of Eden Hall illustratively nailed their swirling colours to the mast. Having been around in one form or another since 1989, they’ve honed their craft to a merciless degree: there isn’t a single wasted or superfluous moment over the entire length of Butterfly Revolutions, originally released as two volumes on separate CDs in 2011, but now available as an unreasonably sexy limited edition double-album (300 copies on black vinyl, 200 in the coloured equivalent).
It’s a properly intoxicating, head-spinning noise, but they excel at achieving psychotropic lift-off precisely because the fundamentals are nailed down so well. As a unit, they punch with the precision of bailiffs – thanks in no small measure to drummer Carlos Mendoza’s quartz-crystal sense of time – while Gregory Curvey and Mark Lofgren’s songs are sufficiently robust in construction to withstand any amount of post-production buffeting. Silly Girl, Medicine Queen and We Are Not Self Control recall the anthemic, soft-focus, pinwheel vision that animated the first Stone Roses album but, overall, it’s more like The Posies channeling (Robyn) Hitchcock’s prismatic sensibilities. A winning combination. - Record Collector Magazine

What strikes me about this, the fourth LP from The Luck Of Eden Hall, is how English much of it sounds, despite the band’s roots in deepest Michigan.
Admittedly, the title track combines garage band riffing and self-consciously trippy lyrics into its brief lifespan, and Bangalore mixes up heavy ’70s drums and guitars with spidery sitar embellishments, (“Batgirl does Bollywood” is how the band themselves describe it). ‘Ten Meters Over The Ground’ though, has a catchy, sax-driven Bowie/Mott style chorus, and ‘Amoreena Had Enough Yesterday’, with its swathes of cosseting Mellotron, evokes nostalgic reveries of a fabled Englishness that possibly never even existed.
The band have a winning way with a melody: ‘A Carney’s Delerium’ layers guitars and mellotron in a lovely, evocative soundscape; and ‘Summertime Girl’ is a pleasingly warm and fuzzy mix of acoustic guitars and organ which generates enough warmth to ease the winter chills outside. - Shindig

Psychedelic Chicago stalwarts The Luck Of Eden Hall have been producing well-crafted, shimmering waves of multi-coloured joy since the late 80s.

It’s disappointing, then, to see so few people here, on an unusually sunny early August evening – especially as they were brought back to Europe on the back of a successful crowdfunding campaign.

And once they take the stage, it initially appears they’re facing even more obstacles, with Jim Licka bravely battling pesky gremlins which seem to have taken up residency in his hired Mellotron. Fortunately, his clearly visible frustration at having to work through these technical hiccups disappear, leaving him and his bandmates Greg Curvey, Mark Lofgren and Carlos Mendoza free to carve out a largely upbeat set to keep the faithful few enthralled.

Sassafras Overcoat, from 2013’s Victoria Moon album, is an early highlight with its huge riffs helping to get the evening back into a groove. It’s swiftly followed by the soaring keyboard atmospherics of Dandy Horse from the same album.

The splendid A Drop In The Ocean, from their 2011 double album Butterfly Revolutions, is equally impressive, with its chunky guitars and swirling space rock keyboard flourishes conjuring Hawkwind-shaped patterns.

The wistful and mellow tones of Blood On My Feet provides a welcome change of pace, giving the band room to catch their breath after an eventful start.

It’s still unclear if they’re actually enjoying the experience of their Scottish visit, with nods towards the crowd kept to the absolute minimum. You really can’t blame them if they’re not, having to play to a small venue not even close to being half full. But smiles eventually appear, as the band members share a few laughs, before they to kick it up a notch with the fabulous feelgood vibes of The Happiness Vending Machine. This perfectly showcases what The Luck Of Eden Hall are all about: slabs of meaty guitar, delicious meandering keyboards, and ridiculously catchy beats.

The trippy Drunk Like Shakespeare On Love then floats along on woozy late-night Mellotron strokes, before upping the pace for its conclusion, with Curvey squeezing out sharp notes from his suitably psychedelic six-string.

It’s a fairly short set – although no-one’s feeling short-changed at the end of it, with some new-found fans seemingly surprised how competent the band are. Let’s just hope they tell friends, so that next time The Luck Of Eden Hall have a few more people waiting for them. They deserve a bigger audience. - Prog Magazine