The Human Instinct is a blues rock band from New Zealand, which have roots starting in the late 1950s as a pop band known as The Four Fours, which morphed into The Human Instinct after the band changed their name in the latter half of 1966. By 1969, the band had become something of an acid blues rock band, though they continued changing their style in later years as well. This album, Burning Up Years (1969), is the band’s debut album, and features a mixture of both covers and originals. This one has been on my queue for a while, and I figured tonight would be a nice night to give it a listen. With that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
Oh wow, “Blues News” starts out with a super tasty blues lick on a really groovy electric guitar. Holy smokes, this tune absolutely oozes a groovy laid back psychedelic flavor that still has a bit of scratchiness to it with the wah’d distorted electric guitar giving the background a super tasty center, while the other electric guitar has a punchy clean tone and the bass has a super smooth groove as the bass line gently gradually moves the tune forward. Oh wow, that punchy electric guitar picks up a little bit of distortion , which makes the soundscape even tastier. The tambourine alongside the strong beat from the drum kit both coaxes the song along and seems to drive it forward, as though the band wants you to choose to follow along, but that choice is more illusory than not. Great tune to open the album, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Maiden Voyage” starts out with some really tasty psychedelic blues guitar riffs with that flavorful distortion reminiscent of much psychedelic rock of the time period. Oh wow, I really dig the way the vocals are arranged in this tune. At the onset of the tune, the lead vocal line seems to have a distant offset echo from one side of the soundscape to the other, and a bit later a chorus of vocals seems to coax you along the track the tune is headed on one side of the soundscape while the distant main vocal line seems to encourage you to do so from the other side of the soundscape. Holy smokes, this extended jam part of the track is sweet. There’s a ton of psychedelic flavors between the wah’d guitar swishes, the tasty distortion of the electric guitars, the smooth groove of the bass guitar, and the reliable and dynamic drums that seem to steer the song a bit from the back of the soundscape. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Fall Down” almost has a bit of folk rock sort of chord progression at the beginning, though the tune seems to be gradually picking up in intensity and complexity as more layers are added. Holy smokes, this is sweet. The shake of the tambourine seems to put you at ease while the cleaner electric guitar plays something that nearly has a 1960s California/Bay area rock sort of sound. Holy smokes, the different vocal layers really add a lot of dynamic sound to the soundscape, while the distorted guitar and drums seem to take the tune out there a bit while remaining into a relatively contained groove. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” I really dig the flavor of the distorted electric guitar in this one, which seems to nearly add elements of both country and funk to the rhythmic line that its playing. This is sweet. This is a cover of the song by Neil Young of the same name. The clean electric guitar both gently melts into the soundscape while at times having a somewhat punchy sound. Wow, I got kind of caught up in the tune. Great track.
Oh wow, “Ashes & Matches” has a really tasty major blues sort of laid back groove going with the rhythm guitar and the bass guitar gently moving the tune forward while being driven by the sturdy beat of the drums. Holy smokes, the tune seems to get a bit chaotic and nearly has an acid rock sort of feel for a moment when the second guitar comes into the soundscape with some distorted howls that nearly sound as though they’re played inside a large hall while you’re listening from behind a door of sorts. Wow, this is one groovy tune, which mixes in a nice diversity of flavors from psychedelia and bluesy influences. Great track.
Oh wow, “You Really Got Me” starts out this cover of the hit tune originally by The Kinks with some absolutely drippy wah’d out clean electric guitar, which is contrasted nicely by a super sturdy distorted bass guitar playing the main melody of the tune, all while being driven forward by a sturdy and dynamic beat from the drums. Holy smokes, a second guitar comes on from the opposite side of the soundscape from the drippy wah’d guitar, and this second guitar sounds again like you’re hearing a guitar being played super loudly inside a concert hall or a church while you’re standing outside of the building; super sweet. Holy smokes, the background vocals really a super sweet flavor to the soundscape. Oh wow, the final guitar line changes things up a ton right before the tune comes to an end. Super sweet cover version.
Oh wow, “Burning Up Years” gets extraordinarily spacey, and the ending of the previous tune makes all the more sense as things have seemingly entered a gentle space-like soundscape that feels representative of a void, all while a pleasant, nearly raga-esque guitar line seems to produce a path ahead for you to follow. The gentle clanging of the cymbals or some similar percussive instrument both enters a nearly tangible piece of matter into the void-like soundscape and gradually intensifies the soundscape as the clangs speed up and introduce other instruments to join the musical space. Oh wow, this is sweet. Some vocals come on that nearly reverberate as though they are shouted into an empty space. I really dig the somewhat spoken-word narrative that seems to guide the soundscape while the electric guitar seems to act like a guiding light. Oh wow, the space-like effects are super sweet, and really take the tune out there while the drums, bass, and guitar all keep a groove going as though they ground the song to some semblance of reality, though the guitar gets increasingly spacey as this line continues as well. The soundscape nearly reminds me a bit of Gong, a psychedelic band from the time period that often played songs experimental and space-like in nature, while mixed with a dose of The Other Half, a psychedelic garage rock band with high energy and a proto punk sound from Los Angeles that would have their jams get raw and nearly dark at times, also from this general time period. Oh wow, this jam really builds up really nicely and nearly has a stoner rock sort of sound as things build to a slow, heavy psychedelic crescendo as things seem to be winding down. Wow, the guitar at the end is super flavorful with a really tasty solo that has a great distorted sound that drips into the soundscape as things wind up. Wow, great track.
Holy smokes, “You Really Got Me (Single Version)” starts out with a ton of flavor off of the heels of the previous tune. I think this track was an addition from the CD re-release of the album in 2001. The placement after the previous tune nearly makes it sound like you’re listening to the last part of a super tasty sandwiched jam as the tune seems to return to familiar territory from the album while still sounding different as the album winds up. Wow, super tasty tune and a great way to wind together the album.
Holy smokes, this album was super sweet. There are a number of different sounds and flavors throughout related to psychedelic rock, as the band mixes genres like acid rock, blues rock, experimental/space rock, country rock, and even a bit of funk together with different levels of rawness as things move dynamically between clean and distorted and melty and punchy sounds. If you dig psychedelic rock and enjoy dynamic mixes of different genres from around 1969, you might want to check out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A