Re-Upped: Locust - Playgue (1976)

This extremely obscure proto arena rock act sprang from Iowa in the early 70's, becoming legendary in their home state while remaining unknown just about everywhere else. Their local fame brought them to Annuit Coeptus Records, who issued their sole release, "Playgue" in 1976. Though the band regularly landed supporting slots for many of the bigger acts touring through Iowa, they never managed to break through to very many other regions outside of the midwest.

So what about the music? Taking on a sound remiscent of Morningstar or early Styx, the band assembles an interesting batch of songs that seem complex in places, yet underdeveloped. With capable vocals, quirky melodies and pitch perfect harmonies, they certainly had the chops to do something spectacular. As it stands, though, "Playgue" is an unremarkably pleasant affair through and through. With lackluster production that sounds more like something engineered in the 60's, alot of the music here suffers from bad sonics. Had the production values been more contemporary, perhaps Locust could have developed their sound more elaborately. The band did split a few years later, frustrated by lack of visibility and not much is known about the members subsequent activities, though bassist Court Hawley would end up in macabre theatrical metal act, Impaler, almost a decade later.

Newly ripped by me from Mint vinyl. This is a huge sonic upgrade from the original posting. In any case, enjoy this HQ vinyl rip and sink your teeth into one of Iowa's few contributions to the AOR genre. Hope you dig it!

320kbps @ http://lix.in/-3f8e6f