Edito de A loves B (B loves C)?Ask' by Italian combo Philomankind is an album of great pop psyche moments, that somehow fuses late 60s upbeat psychedelia with the ambitious vocals of 70s pop act Abba. ?Gender bender' opens up the album with a 60s pop feel mixing upbeat vibes, a girly sound and some superb sunshine smiling moments. Sara Piaggesi sugary vocals are superb. The interesting and quite complex arrangement of Gender Bender adds to the songs cross dressing appeal. ?U Know, I Know' is an ambitious freak out with Beatles-esque guitar touches. This psych frenzy has a great crescendo of harmonies and a freaky mellotron adding the trip. Marco Piaggesi takes over for most of the vocals duties on this tune, adding variety to the already complex vocal arrangements. ?Ask' is out and out upbeat sugar shaking pop, great fun. Again the strong melodies and wall of harmonies work a treat. ?Sorry' is a piano led ballad with a chilled out fell, shifting the mood. ?From A Lonely One' is a chamber pop tune with an easy going beat and a very strong vocal from Sara. The wash of harmonies is off set by a more gruff male vocal from Marco, which works really well. ?Mr Adviser' is like one of Paul McCartney's Noel Cowards style ditties, an off the wall tune adding to the albums attraction. The McCartney/Beach Boys vibe on ?Smile' is super catchy, super melodic, super! Massive late Beatles style piano is the order of the day on ?No Retaliation', with freaky organ embellishments punctuated throughout the song. ?No Retaliation' is a huge tune and features a fine heartfelt vocal from Sandro. ?It's Easy To See' is a more straight forward stripped down pop rocker and the powerful rock vocal from Sara shows off her wide range. Sara can do the sugar shaking sweet vocals as well as something with more aggression, but even within ?It's Easy To See' she shifts from a rocky vocal to something choir like then to psychedelic inflections. ?Saccharine' is a harmony tune mixing up 60s vibes with that crazy Abba feel. There is also a mad psyche bit thrown in for good measure. ?Pennsylvania Woman' is sung by Sandro and features a big chorus, nifty guitar licks, banjo and magnificent organ. ?You're In My Mind' kicks up a rock'n'roll ruckus and finishes off the album in rockin' style. Philomankind have produced an album of pristine pop filled with melody, harmony and extremely accomplished musicianship, check it out. Jonny Magus - www.sohostrut.co.uk