Poison In The Russian Room is veteran Seattle combo The Green Pajamas’ new album, a conceptual piece split into two distinct parts. This is their seventh release for Hidden Agenda Records, seven among several dozen official releases since their inception in the mid 80s. While The Green Pajamas’ trademark psychedelia has gone through many moon phases (both gibbous and crescent) on the last 25 years, here in 2009 the band might rock harder than ever (they’re from Seattle after all, grunge finds a way), but also invert all expectations with a Pentangle-influenced acid-folkiness that will charm and enchant.

Track by track with Jeff Kelly:

This CD is divided up like an old LP in that there is a distinctive side 1 and side 2. The first part is a collection of 8 songs.

"Any Way the Wind Blows"
I got Criterion's DVD of "Pandora's Box" starring Louise Brooks and fell in love with the movie and her as well. This is my humble tribute to the film. How did I never know about Louise Brooks??

"Cristina Dancing"
Another tribute to another mesmerizing presence of whom I knew not of until recently, Cristina Hoyos. And again thanks to Criterion and their box set of Carlos Saura's beautiful "Flamenco Trilogy." You just have to see her...

"This Angel's On Fire"
This one has some wild sax playing by local jazz legend, Ronnie Pierce. He's eighty-something years old.

"Mr. Ivan"
This is my favorite kind of Eric song, one of his melancholy mood pieces.

"Queen of Broken Hearts"
Laura has been busy writing songs for the next Goblin Market record and didn't have anything for this one. So I asked if I could write her one to sing. And she said yes and did. And very well I think.

"Suicide Subways"
While visiting Tokyo, where his brother was living, Eric heard some astounding statistics regarding how many people throw themselves in front of the subway trains every year. If you're on a train in Tokyo that isn't moving, it's probably due to another "human accident," as they apparently refer to these tragedies.

The second part of the record is called 'In Search of the Elusive Fairy Queen and Some Pleasure Unknown'. I wanted a title that sounded like something from the days of Pentangle or one of those groups. This small collection of songs might be about one's quest to attain the unattainable, to see the unseeable, touch something that has never been touched. Most of the instrumentation is sparse. I left a lot of room, for instance, for Craig Flory to play some wonderful saxophone on "Who's That Calling." It's perhaps a little bit of a different sound than past records.

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