Ivan Thunders (Thee Lucifer Sams / Liverpool Psychedelic Society) reviews the new album by Texas Bob Juarez Sparkletstars, 'Alice and the Magick Theatre', released over the New Year.
2020 was a washout year for many, but for my good friend Texas Bob - a Los Angeles-based musician, who also lived in London and Liverpool for a few years - it's been pretty busy, with gigs in Hollywood, London and Liverpool, plus an ambitious new album, released on Christmas day.
Those lucky enough to have seen Texas Bob live in 2020 (he played the two Liverpool Psychedelic Society gigs I've organised this year, and also one in London) will  know Bob is a unique, charismatic performer. However, those solo, acoustic sets only tell part of the story. His albums, under  the banner Texas Bob Juarez Sparklestars (to give Bob's act its full name) are much bigger affairs - ambitious, sprawling, multi-layered. Like going from watching something on TV to something in the cinema, in widescreen cinemascope. Fitting analogy, since Bob lives in Los Angeles and finds inspiration from the La la land itself.Â
Hanging out with Texas Bob quite a bit this year, it was interesting for me to see his dedication to this new album, which was recorded in LA but which was completed while Bob was in the UK. Chatting to him about the music and listening to the early mixes, I could see the passion Bob put into the music contained here and the listener will definitely hear it throughout the album's 17 tracks, especially on his vocals.
'Alice and the Magick Theatre' is his most ambitious album yet, and a darker affair than his previous one. It opens with an instrumental, ominous track featuring a mellotron and sparse drumming only, and then quickly goes into first song proper, 'Fairfax/Hollywood (Once Upon a Time)' which starts with the line "Living in a beautiful dream" but soon the character in the song is pleading to be taken to a better, more idilyc past.
The dark mood, suggested in this song is more fully expressed on the following track, 'Sign of Things to Come' which is perfect for 2020: "What the hell are we doing here? Seems like we're giving in to the fear..." Written pre-pandemic, it sounds prophetic now, besides being one of the album's strongest tracks.
This is the mood throughout the album - light and dark, instrumental numbers mixed with songs that tell Alice's journey through the "Hollywood Babylon", and references to the more "cult" side of LA culture, from Kenneth Anger to Love.
The album is quite varied. 'In Sunset and St. Vincent She Saved Me..." is a rockier track that features guitars that wouldn't be out of place in The Libertines' first album, and a highly melodic bassline that's really captivating. This song is followed by another instrumental, 'Alice Lost in the Magick Theatre' that shifts the musical mood completely, being led by a piano and a moody mellotron cello.
This constant shift of mood and musical styles are what gives the album its psychedelic, eerie, dream-like feel, full of unexpected turns and surprises, just like Alice's own journey.
'Alice and the Magick Theartre"is a long album but it's worth sticking to it to the end - it's almost like a rock opera (though Texas Bob wouldn't describe it this way) taking you through the streets of Los Angeles, through darkness and light, through a mix of psychedelia, glam rock and even a touch of Brian Wilson - 'She Cries For Love' is one of the highlights, an instrumental that sounds like a Pete Sounds outtake.Â
"Run Away" is another standout instrumental - a piano led track with melllotron cello and atmospheric, sparse drums, with a haunting melody.
The songs are all memorable, and Texas Bob weaves a rich, varied musical tapestry... it feels like each time you listen to this album, you'll discover new things. Also, one of the best things about the album is that it's not trying to please nor sound like anyone else out there, which is very common these days.Â
Second to last track, 'Last Train to Wonderland' is a cathartic number, announcing that our (and Alice's) journey is near the end and that, perhaps... there's hope after darkness, as Bob shouts "Wave goodbye to the nighmare".Â
The album works as a whole and is not meant to be heard in shuffle mode - you know, just like in them "old days", it's an album that needs your attention and to be listened to from beginning to end, not just in bits. It's got an unique sound and vision, and you can't mistake Texas Bob Juarez Sparklestars for anyone else.Â
Texas Bob is already working on a follow up, and this one is a good starting point if you've never heard him before - a kaleidoscopic trip to the dark heart of LA.
Words: Ivan Thunders, Photos: RBY and Band Media.
Bandcamp: https://texasbobjuarez.bandcamp.com/