Even when the name of your best friend is Jacco Gardner it’s kind of a bold decision to quote from Pink Floyd’s debut, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967) to grace your own debut album. Overconfident or not, Hugo van de Poel at least shows that he’s got a fine taste in music. From an early age he and Gardner listened to Syd Barett, The Zombies and Billy Nicholls. This eventually led to the band The Skywalkers that was a small hit in the Dutch freak scene. Hereafter both chaps decided to focus their attention onto their solo projects. Gardner’s Cabinet of Curiosities (2013) proved to be very successful leaving van de Poel outside the spotlights. That is, up until now. Because this month under the alias Earth Mk. II he released Music For Mammals on Excelsior Recordings. And guess what, Gardner acts as the album’s producer, so there is no surprise that Music For Mammals is all about sixties psych pop. Also Music For Mammals is the umpteenth psychedelics record this year and some courage is needed when entering this already full market. Yet courage is not the only prerequisite for success. Earth Mk. II needs to find a way to be distinctive from the others bands in this genre. And I wonder if there is any space left to do so. Continue reading →