First impressions of Schnauser- Byrdian jingly jangly, Arthur Lee's Love inspired inventive melodic otherwordy, at the cutting edge of psych rock.

If this review is reading like a stream of consciousness then that's because the music is so hard to define. Hey, but how's this for a list of influences? Egg, Blossom Toes, the Doors and the Kinks. Soft Machine is also cited and it's hard to see why except for the playfulness of the lyrics and restrained experimentation. One of the early songs had me thinking of the bluesier moments of early Colosseum until the McCartneyish bassline kicked in. ‘Kill All Humans' is Schnauser's ‘Mr Kite' and The Beatles are obviously a big influence. Don't be alarmed by the title- the song is about humans' tendency to render extinct all other species with the story line centring on the last tiger in Hobart, Tasmania. (This is brilliantly depicted on a Pink Hedgehog DVD sampler I was sent by that nice man Simon Felton) The fairground organ on the mind blowing ‘There's A Fist' also shows a touch George Martin would have been proud of but the overriding impression here is that this song would not have been out of place on ‘Forever Changes'. One could say the same about ‘Toys for Boys'- where on Earth did Pink Hedgehog find a band as good as this? (Apparently they formed in Armenia hardly a hotbed of classic psychedelic rock I would imagine).

There's a sardonic irony in the lyrics that has Ray Davies or maybe even Mothers of Invention all over it- ‘Hail to the Corpse' is a good example. If you took the words away the slow Latin rhythm and Hollies harmonies suggest something a lot softer then the synth and punch line come in and a few guitar licks borrowed from Steve Howe show that Schnauser are at a seriously good creative and musical level. There is an astonishing consistency about the music. The 3:23 of ‘What is Postmodern?' left me quite breathless. There's even a song about Walt Disney's head waiting in a cryogenic lab! A list of guest musicians add greatly to the fullness of the sound and bassist/ vocalist Ken Hauser's production is good. ‘Kill All Humans' is quite simply the best psychedelic rock album I've heard in ages and will appeal to all who like serious subject matter in their music done in a humorous and infectious way with songs that would certainly grace the Love songbook! Highly recommended.

Contact: www.schnauser.co.uk and www.pinkhedgehog.com

(SMILE 15)

The Armenian group obtained in his disk of premiere, join several artists of the stamp Pink Hedgehog - Landmark Rossi, Anton Barbeau, Lucy Watkins, etc - for season still its footprint years 60. Kill all humans is an excellent disk.

The band knew to sew influences of Love, Doors, Beach Boys and Beatles, impregnated of humor. The work was thrown in 2005 and can be bought through the stamp or of the own site of the band, one of the funniest existing, so much one by the humor (the biography is hilarious), as by the obsession with the years 60 and acid tirades.

A big request.

This has to be one of the best bands I have heard period. They have so much variety of material. The instrumentals remind me of early Zappa, but still fresh. Even my teenage son loves them. Spread the Schnauser.

According to the artists, Schnauser plays mostly instrumental freakbeat psychedelia, occasionally venturing into pop. Sounds well and good. They go on to say they enjoy playing scuba-pong and drinking schnapps. OK, fine. But what gets us worried is their claim that "our guitarist was voted 'soldier of the year' in 1977" and that their debut album is titled Kill All Humans . If we weren't so smitten with their snazzy outfits, we might have already turned tail.

This mysterious, and somewhat disturbing individual (check out the website for clues) describes his musical style as 'psychedelic pop with progressive / punk influences'.

Leaning towards the 'psychadelic pop' end, 'Keep On Digging' has a summery breezy feel that has elements of  the Beach Boys and Love, juxtoposed with more sinister lyrics that paint a picture of a man scorned...