Mid-’70s fanzine guru (and former Gizmo) Eddie Flowers leads this loosely constructed Los Angeles aggregation through a variety of blaring, but somehow pacific improv-rock styles, all of which reinforce the band’s implicit motto: “The chemicals go in before the name goes on.” Silent Invisible Conversation takes its name from a line in the Can song (“Little Star of Bethlehem”) that fills Side Two and hints that the three adrenal, Germs-ish tracks on the flip were but a stepping stone to the harder-to-shake stuff.
In the Gospel Zone peddles a much slower-working, but ultimately more lethal, brew. Ricocheting in white-water-rapids-of-consciousness fashion, between beatnik nihilism, full-leather-jacket biker hatemonging and White Panther positivism, Flowers’ rants reproduce the spirit of utter drug-rock derangement like no one since the (NYC) Godz. A public-service announcement for some, a call to arms for others. Solitude narrows the focus a bit, with the rambling “Solitude Smokestack Head” overtly advocating the use of cannabis (simultaneously discouraging it via the unmistakable evidence of brainpan burnout). The almost zen-like “Ocean = You,” however, is actually quite beautiful.