1) From www.allmusic.com (by Ned Raggett)

Though recorded quickly over two days - and indeed, literally recorded live in the studio with no overdubs - Synanthesia's sole album from 1969 is a gentle treat for anyone interested in the obscurer realms of late-'60s U.K. folk and its descendants. It's always a pleasure to hear something that did not deservedly go out of print - and therefore get an unnecessary reputation. Instead, the combination of bandleader Dennis Homes' gentle vocals and delicate guitar work, Leslie Cook 's equally strong talents, and the ace-in-the-hole performing of sax and flute player Jim Fraser is often quite magical. That the band openly has a debt to the Incredible String Band and Bert Jansch practically goes without saying, but there's a difference between mere aping and finding a particular spin on a sound, and Synanthesia firmly comes down on the side of the latter. For such a rushed and in-the-moment album, the sound is often quite rich - credit not only to Vic Gamm 's inspired engineering, but to the band's clear abilities as a solid live act. Hearing Homes ' gentle vibes work on "Peek Strangely and Worried Evening" or Cook 's flourishes on mandolin for "Fates" shows how well each complements the other songwriter's work. Yet Fraser in many ways is the key throughout - clearly picking up on jazz influences as much as folk ones, much like his bandmates, and the result is a detailed, fluid series of performances on his chosen instruments, ranging from the restrained then strutting sax parts on "Morpheus" to gentle background flute on "Rolling and Tumbling." The band's weakest element might be the lyrics, but nothing is outright bad, just sometimes awkward. Sunbeam's 2006 re-release, in keeping with the label's similar work, features not only excellent sound but winning, retrospective liner notes from Homes and a slew of rare pictures, plus a bonus track, "Shifting Sands," that originally appeared on an obscure compilation album from 1970.

2) From www.justaddnoise.com

I'm not sure if the name is a variation of synaesthesia, but according to the definition - a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color - it would have been fitting... Going beyond the traditional guitar strumming and vocals many associate with folk, Synanthesia incorporated flutes and other horns along with vibraphone, bongos, violins and mandolin to create a richly textured take on folk that was ahead of it's time. Fortunately now, thanks to Sunbeam, a whole new generation of freak folk fans have a chance to discover some of the pioneers.

3) From www.othermusic.com

Synanthesia existed for a year and a half at the tail end of the '60s, released one impossible-to-find LP, then sank without a trace. Pity, as the ground they trod on this reissue was fairly fresh at the time, and still resonates with lysergic psych-folk abandon. Wispy, faerie-prince style lyrics are framed properly against acoustic guitar, sax, bass flute, vibraphone and percussion, in a dynamic mix of melody and dissonance, breaking some boundaries of form for the genre and adhering closely to others. Inspired and lush, this is one of the finer titles to spring up from the new Sunbeam label and should appeal to most latter-day folk/psych/drug music enthusiasts.

4) From www.indieworkshop.com (by Andy Tefft)

This 1969 LP is among the flood of folk reissues to be smuggled by Sunbeam Records from the private dens of deep-pocketed collectors to the present day. As an arranged modern folk record, this may indeed be considered a lost classic. Similar to emerging trends in orchestrated layering and expansive jazz arrangements heard on Nick Drake (he was bound to come up) records and even Van Morrison's Astral Weeks , flute and vibes occupy a place on this record that is novel, free of irony or flimsy mood conjuring. These instruments truly add gentle and contemplative atmospheres and a mysterious, alternately unsettling and breezy feel to the songs. there is much about this album's feel and relation to the more famous names above that deservedly makes psych scholars and collectors salivate. This has been in heavy early Spring rotation for myself.

5) From www.psychedelicfolk.homestead.com

Synanthesia were a London based trio. Their fusing acid folk style was distinctive from all other bands. The songs were somewhat kept relatively simple, but there was great attention to delicate, slightly progressive and original arrangements, with unusual instruments for an association with acid folk (like some improvisational sax in dialogue with guitar and the melody on "Morpheus"), which makes the group sometimes less easy to place. "Peek strangely and worried evening", " Rolling and Tumbling " and " The tale of the spider and the fly " have a definite Donovan influence (way of singing, guitar, and progressive flute). The improvisation near the end of this track is rather psychedelic. Also very beautiful are the progressive acid folk arrangements on "Fates" and "Vesta" (with beautiful spinning guitar and sax). "Mnemosyne" goes a bit in the direction of Forest , but more exotic, with a beautiful oboe and acoustic guitars (besides some flute and violin). Also very beautiful is the almost Cohenesque-mood-of-melancholic "Just as the curtain finally falls", a track which clearly has some Incredible String Band influence.

This is generally accepted as being a top album, and is considered a classic for acid folk lovers. There's one bonus track added which was recorded in the same studios a few months later. It was intended as a track for a single to go along with the album, but except as an inclusion on a sampler in 1970, it was never released as such. This track is a fine inclusion, with some nice orchestration and flute, and very soft bongo.