Hindu for 'Celestial music to the gods,' this quirky
Canadian band from
London, Ontario didn't really become known until the release of their last album
Sold for a Smile. Sadly enough this album does not encompass the beauty that is
The Gandharvas. Some of their better songs include:
Drool, Masochistic Minstrel, and
the Coffee Song, none of which are on the last album. In a sense they can be compared to the oddness of
They Might Be Giants, but their subjects tend to be more serious, and deep ranging from religion to relationships.
Forming sometime in the early 90's, The Gandharvas only made 3 albums: A Soap Bubble and Inertia, Kicking in the Water, and Sold for a Smile. A Soap Bubble and Inertia has a definite light-hearted energetic feel to it that, at times, gets weird. Songs like First day of Spring and Dallying are absoloutely great to listen to around the turning of Springtime. But this album then takes the bizarre turn with Elevator Bugs, and Soap Bubble Meets Inertia. With titles like these how can you go wrong? The voice of lead singer Paul Jago only adds to the oddity with a range that goes beyond that of any normal man's voice. Kicking in the Water has a more darker feel, while their last album Sold for a Smile is a rant against the mainstream music, ala the song Diaboloney. This whole album tends to have a bland mainstream feel compared to the two former, more ecclectic, albums. It's ironic that Sold for a Smile was the band's first album to go mainstream.
Sold for a Smile is the only album of the 3 that went into distribution in the U.S. Unfortunately this band has broken up.