Let's start off by saying that Cardinal is an acquired taste.

The first listen can be a bit alienating, and some of its aesthetics may rub you the wrong way. However, if you have no objections to French horns, breathy stream-of-consciousness vocals and occasional three part harmonies, this re-issue of Cardinal's eponymous 1994 release, with over twenty minutes of bonus material not included on the original, will be a taste worth pursuing.

The brainchild of Richard Davies (formerly of Aussie art-rockers The Moles) and Eric Matthews, Cardinal draws inspiration from such sources as The Go-Betweens, Robyn Hitchcock and The Beatles, as well as more underground '60s psychedelic groups like The Soft Machine and The Move. This isn't say that the Cardinals are derivative of earlier pioneers; far from it. Davies and Matthews simply used these influences as a jumping-off point for their own creative journeys.

Songs like "Dream Figure" and "Tough Guy Tactics" have aged well -- the former partly because of the emotional immediacy that comes through in lyrics like "lies ain't beautiful and the stains seem almost visible / and if I've fallen down again don't lift me up, I'd like to taste my sin / rains, wash them all away." Unfortunately, the album takes some time to really pick up momentum. The first few tracks occasionally suffer from instrumentation and production that throws the lyrics' quirkiness into sharp relief, making them sound a bit overwrought and studied. It's with the bonus tracks that Cardinal really comes into its own, capturing some of the spontaneity that the full-length lacks.

It's here, on the sparse demos and cuts from the group's now out of print Toy Bell EP, that Davies and Matthews' harmonies shine, uncluttered by the occasionally heavy-handed arrangements that slowed down the eponymous release. Further recommending these mixes is original member (and future Sebadoh drummer) Bob Fay's stellar '60s garage-style pagan-skin pounding, which gives tracks like "Tough Guy Tactics (demo)" and "Sweatshirt Gown" much more of a Nuggets lost-classic feel. The bonus tracks also include a cover of "Willow Willow" -- a nice interpretation of a great song by Love's Arthur Lee.

Cardinal is essential listening for anyone who's looking for something more sophisticated than the recent barrage of "garage" music that has dominated the airwaves for the past few years. Fans of Super Furry Animals and especially All Night Radio, take note.