Search - St Johnny :: High As a Kite

Higher than a kite

loctgruv | phila, pa | 01/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this cd is still one of my favorite drone/noize rock albums of all time. The production and the general energy that they had on this debut far surpassed anything that came afterward. Reminiscent of dinosaur jr., swervedriver, sonic youth, and Spacemen 3 but off on a slightly different more soulful tangent with garage band sensibility, this album was highly overlooked. go to sleep, god in my head, matador, highway, stupid, and unclean are the most standout tracks but almost all are worthy for their raw rocking swagger, noise and feedback washes and dark minor chord progressions. I recommend this to any fan of quality edgy punk/noise influenced rock or fans of the dinosaur jr./shoegazer sound."

A raw and bristling preview of "Speed is Dreaming"

loctgruv | 06/20/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"St.Johnny's real blowout record was the follow-up, "Speed is Dreaming", now sadly unavailable due to the (typical) distribution antics of Geffen. But for the price, this is well worth having, moreso than the overripe, very different third album "Let it Come Down". This band had an awe-inspiring retrograde guitar dynamic whereby rapidly strummed chord progressions start to gel into languid, even downbeat, drifting harmonies rather analogous to the optical patterns seen in the spokes of spinning wheels. The only guitar band that surpassed St.Johnny in this curious blend of restless and listless moods was Swervedriver.Strange lyrical ruminations, occasionally reflecting Beat literary sensibilities, are sung in a high, nasal voice which is not pretty, but works quite well with the music. What a pity these guys are gone! Track down "Speed is Dreaming" if you can."