The Lucky Bishops of Dorset, England play ambitious rock reminiscent of 70s gurus like Todd Rundgren. The band's backwards-glancing sound mixes English psychedelia, driving rock, power pop and prog for a mellow, mind-bending experience. The group was formed in the late 90s by bassist, pianist and guitarist Alan Strawbridge, drummer Luke Adams, multi-instrumentalist Tom Hughes and guitarist Rich Murphy. Their self-titled debut, released in 1999 on Rubric in the United States and Woronzow in the United Kingdom, grasped at Beatles melodies and Beach Boys harmonies, garnering the band comparisons to another group of psychedelic revivalists, XTC. The Lucky Bishops then holed up in their little Dorset thatched cottage - reportedly in constant herbal reverie - to record Grimstone, named for the country village that inspired the bucolic psych-pop. Unfortunately, the cottage fell down during the spring storms and the members of the Lucky Bishops were forced to move to Dorchester. The record, though, was released in 2002 and further expands the band's expansive 70s prog sound. ~ Charles Spano