Pinball Wanderer is Andy Bell’s hypnotic dive into texture and tone. A swirl of psychedelia, Britpop, and avant-garde, it thrives on loops, layers, and studio experimentation. Guitars are the stars here—lead, rhythm, soundscapes—stacked and spliced, like a sonic laboratory with Bell and Gem Archer as the mad scientists.
“Panic Attack” opens with shimmering guitar loops and hazy melodies, echoing The Byrds through the prism of The Stone Roses. It sets the stage for an album where mood and vibe reign supreme.
One of the best tracks here is a fantastic cover of The Passions' “I'm In Love With A German Film Star,” with haunting vocals by Dot Allison. It’s eerie and surreal, like floating in medicated limbo. That same detached haze ripples through “Madder Lake Deep,” a post-rock sketch with flashes of Hawkwind-style atmosphere...
“Apple Green UFO” takes another approach: funky, chaotic, and ultimately trance-like, it fuses R&B, dub, electro, and Krautrock. With its acid-soaked guitars melting minds and moving bodies, the track is a masterpiece of rhythm and tone.
The title track, “Pinball Wanderer,” channels ‘60s psychedelic soul. Flute, slide guitar, and a buoyant bassline weave a warm, Traffic-inspired instrumental. But "Music Concrete" veers into Dodecaphonic territory—math rock and serial music with echoes of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Discipline-era King Crimson. Yeah, it's out there.
Short pieces like “The Notes You Never Hear” and “Space Nation Mantra”, while not exactly fully-formed songs, add to the astral mood of the album, dreamy, cosmic, and lysergic.
Built “from the drums up,” Pinball Wanderer is meticulous yet unconstrained. Even in its instrumentals, hooks emerge from the layers. Psychedelic and daring, it’s a record that demands repeat listens. And maybe, just maybe, it might be a drugs record.
Release date: February 28th, 2025
Produced by: Andy Bell & Gem Archer
Label: Sonic Cathedral
Rating: 7/10
