I spent quite a while trying to figure out exactly what Rhode Rachel is going for with his Aura Blaze project. He spent the last three years recording this album, releasing an ELO cover in 2016 and a Grateful Dead cover in 2017 (neither appear here). Knowing that helps a bit.

Aura Blaze The Sparkling Black (self-released)

So take some Byrds, Jeff Lynne, Elton John and Paul McCartney and season with a dash of the Zombies and Jackson Browne. Effervescent psychedelic pop that is much more concerned with razor-sharp hooks than gauzy introspection. But there's so much going on that the overall sound can easily overwhelm.

Which leads to the obvious ELO connection. Rachel isn't quite so shiny with his production sound (he prefers shimmer to sheen), but the notion of throwing everything into a song and then cranking the burner to 11 is no stranger to him.

The results can be almost too much. And if you like to listen to music without raising your heat rate, you'd better find something else, stat. Aura Blaze is fully invested in the "too much is never enough" theory of music. I agree. Better to try too hard than not hard enough. Most of the time, Rachel's efforts are most rewarding. Crank this one up and hold on for dear life.

Jon Worley