The Sand Pebbles are a lovely class of bastard, and they have this incredible gimmick of, like, good songs played really well with taste and adventurism and lots of bits with no-one singing. Track ten is called 'Sioux City Falls' and it is kind of funky reggae with the band next door taking care of feedback. Track 8 is 'Black Sun Ensemble' and it starts out with a very bumpy bassline and inappropriate (almost crude) guitar, and gets great soon after. The first track sounds like the Meat Puppets, the Sports and the Maurice Gibb finding common cause. The last track out-Supernauts Supernaut and I remember them (the Sand Pebbles, not the Nauts) doing this one live; it was a barbecue stopper.

It's amazing to think that groups like the Sand Pebbles aren't sort of world famous and adored, and of course we can all think of 70s groups that are far less interesting or valuable who are raking it in and shouldn't be. All I know is this is the stuff that will last, and those other chimeras will vanish unto the four winds before ye know it. Until that raptous day, be content with private worship and priest holes.

- David Nichols