Pink vinyl! Former Prisoners / Prime Movers cohorts The Solarflares had further distilled the myriad pleasures of hard-edged, soulful 60s beat-psych, powerhouse guitar/organ instrumentals, and world class (but never wanky) riffage into a classy package, replete with memorable, groove-heavy tunes with knockout harmonies and that big, bad beat. It's fair to say that messrs Graham Day (guitar, vocals), Allan Crockford (bass, vocals), Wolf Howard (drums, vocals) and, latterly, Parsley (organ, vocals) deserve more acclaim, even from diehard fans of The Prisoners and their many other combos, which is where this reissue come in. "That was Then. and so is This", their sophomore set, came out on Twist in 2000 and features less gloriously distorto production but don't let that fool ya into thinking it's a slouch - no sir. The album's expanded, richer and more defined (dare I say, cinematic?) sonic palette encompasses kinetic acoustic riffery ("Miles Away"), fuzztastic beaters ("Sucking Out My Insides") and the obvs Gerry Anderson-inspired ("Angel Interceptor") - tis a stone pleasure, indeed!
