Bohemian Vendetta was a psychedelic garage rock band from Long Island, who released one self-titled album during their run from 1966 to 1968. I’m pretty sure this album came across my dashboard when I was listening to Fields the other day, or possibly The Tiffany Shade. The band never really caught mainstream success with their album, but in later years their work would be included on compilation records for different anthologies. With that, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Riddles and Fairytales” definitely has a really strange, almost psychedelic-like circus intro to the tune and album, which is filled up with syncopation between the instruments that play catch-up with another. The vocals finally came on, and they’re right there in your face. It reminds me a lot of Donovan’s album, Sunshine Superman (1966). The band has a really nice groove going with this one, and the layering to the vocals and almost slug-like feel at times is echoed extremely well in the instrumentation, making really creative use of different vibes and tempos.
“(She Always Gives Me) Pleasure” has a really tasty classic bluesy folksy psychedelic rock song. It kind of sounds a bit like the Grateful Dead’s studio version of “Morning Dew” from their self-titled 1967 album with the guitar work. Oh wow, I really dig this. It sounds like The Other Half a little bit, or really just late 1960s Los Angeles based psychedelic rock and roll. This one has a really groovy vibe to it, and definitely has a whole lot of feeling in the performance. Oh wow, the way those organs sort of just lightly screech for little moments is awesome. The band is playing a strange sort of jam that feels like it goes between super experimental and a really nice structured feeling. It almost reminds me a bit of The Doors’ version of “Gloria”, originally by Van Morrison and Them.
“All Kinds of Highs” has a really sweet sound to it – it’s like proto-punk meets surf rock with a somewhat psychedelic organ thrown in. Oh wow, I really dig that electric guitar – definitely very against the grain from what you might expect, and definitely has a bit of a punk rock feel to it. There’s definitely a garage rock tinge to it, but it’s draped in a lot of psychedelic sounds. This is definitely a groovy little tune, and it’s definitely got an interesting groove to it, as the jams get pretty out there when the band is going, but everything syncs back up so well when it’s time to fall back together. This outro has a ton of great tone and energy too, pretty sweet little tune.
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is a cover of The Rolling Stones’ hit song, and definitely has a slow start to it. I think I remember seeing this is the only song that the band didn’t write themselves, and only put it on the album at the request of the record label to make their album a bit more appealing to radio DJs that might be playing this type of music. Oh wow, there’s a super experimental psychedelic intro, that falls into a super downtempo, intimate version of The Rolling Stones’ song, and is absolutely dripping with psychedelia. Wow, it’s like they’re playing with the lyrics of the song, as it feels like a whole lot of tension is being built up given my expectations of how the song sounds when played by The Rolling Stones. That’s definitely punk rock if you asked me. Things pick up in tempo slightly once in a while, as almost momentary relief or simply a tease of what the song would sound like played at a tempo closer to the original. There’s a whole lot of that “going against the grain” sort of sound in this one; almost like the song is a river flowing uphill in music form. Really sweet version.
“Paradox City” starts out with some discordant organ and some big drums, and reminds me of Tim Buckley’s song, “Lorca”. Then the song sort of falls into place in a really strange way; when it’s in a verse, the song sounds quite palatable to someone who might be walking by as you listen, then gets super dark and psychedelic for the chorus, and is absolutely awesome, though extraordinarily strange. It sounds like the anthem to a dark ringleader of some sort of psychedelic circus.
“Love Can Make Your Mind Go Wild” has a groovy feel to it, and is definitely the least ‘experimental’ sounding of the last few songs, and sounds like a groovy late 1960s psychedelic blues rock song that’s reminiscent of The Jimi Hendrix Experience in terms of the overall feel. There’s definitely a lovely feel to this song, and that guitar absolutely goes in at the end. Great little tune.
“The House of the Rising Sun” starts out with some super low bass that sort of gives the song a platform to build on, and a super buzzy repetitive guitar riff that sort of puts you in a trance. Holy smokes, the amount of tension relieved when the vocals come on is absolutely remarkable. It reminds me a lot of the Grateful Dead’s version of “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” from their album, Live/Dead (1969); I think it’s in the same key at the very least. I just realized this tune was originally by The Animals from their 1964 self-titled album, and this version is absolutely awesome. That low bass that sort of persists through the whole thing when other instruments drop out serves as like the heartbeat to the tune.
“Images (Shadow of the Night)” picks right up where the last one left off with some nice organ that sort of swirls around and props the guitar and vocals up on it, while the drums and bass drive the song around from the other side of the soundscape. Definitely a really sweet little tune.
Oh wow, “Deaf Dumb and Blind” segues right into itself really well coming off the tail of the previous track. It definitely feels like a super introspective psychedelic type of jam at first, and then the vocals come on and it sounds like a psychedelic folk song. Honestly, I’m saddened that this band didn’t make any more albums. Oh wow, that electric guitar is absolutely awesome. The electric organ, combined with that bell, along with the sullen folksy vocal performance, and large reverberated drums really create such an interesting soundscape that sounds straight out of a different dimension. I think there was even a harpsichord for a second, wow. That false ending was pretty sweet too.
Oh wow, “I Wanna Touch Your Heart” is super experimental sounding at the beginning with almost extra-terrestrial spacey beeps and chimes from some synth. This song definitely feels a bit like a track steadily approaching the station, but definitely very deliberate in orchestration at this point. Wow, I just looked this up on discogs and it seems like the vinyl is a collectors item of some sort. Wow, I really dig the way this one fades out, and makes it seem like the band eternally plays on.
Wow, this album was really awesome. There’s so much range, from super raw, and experimental, to very deliberate and polished. It really does make me feel a bit sad that they didn’t make any more albums, but I am certainly thankful for this one. I am going to look into picking this one up on vinyl somehow. If you enjoy psychedelic rock, experimental rock, garage rock, or even blues rock, there’s a fair chance you might enjoy this one, in my opinion at least. If you do decide to give it a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy it at least as much as I did.
-A