by Matt Keefer

Frontman Wayne Coyne approaches the tour at his own pace.

Few could predict that an indie punk group from Oklahoma City would have such an innovative presence in the music world. At 49, Wayne Coyne and his quartet of space-a-delic freaks, including bassist Michael Ivins and drummers Steven Drozd and Kliph Scurlock, have earned a Grammy, covered Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety, and toured relentlessly across the world. Currently on tour for their first double-album Embryonic (excluding Zaireeka, their 1997 four-album experiment), the self-deprecating Coyne delivers about the not-so-glamorous side of touring, as well as about future projects.

Matt Keefer: Thanks for your time. Do you mind if I record the interview?

Wayne Coyne: Sure. I don’t expect you to write it all down and remember it. I’m not doubting your ability to remember, but, see, I just talk. It might be a lot easier for you to say, ‘Nah, that fucker goes on too long.’

M: At 27, being 49 seems like a long way to travel.

WC: I remember when I was 27, I would think about someone who’s almost 50 years old: ‘Dude, are you alright?’ I don’t ever get the feeling that I’m any different. It’s only when I look in the mirror sometimes that I think, “oh wow, I look like a weird old guy.” I don’t feel different to myself. It’s a strange phenomenon.

M: How’s your tour for Embryonic going so far?

WC: We’re never really on tour for very long. We’ll go out for maybe about ten days, play some shows, then we’ll go home for ten days… we’re always doing everything at the same time. Since we’re playing some shows in the summertime, you always run into other groups, and we ran into a group, Trombone Shorty, just last night. They’re almost into their third consecutive month of playing. That can beat you down. I already did that several times – when I was your age – and it can be such a mind-fuck, you’re so torn away from your life that you’re trying to build, the people that you knew. Like I said, I’m 49 years old, and the other guys, they’re not as old as me, but they’re not in their early 20s. I think they don’t want to be taken away from their families and their lives for that long. And you can almost go endlessly the way we’re going. You can almost never stop, because we’re going full-time. Doing the Flaming Lips tour is kind of like working at Target: it just kinda is. It’s not too hard, you just get up and go to work.

M: I know some musicians that have kids, and touring must be rough on them.

WC: Especially for musicians. The reason I say musicians is that they have a sensitivity about them, or they probably wouldn’t like music. And all these things that play into human dramas and emotions are just a little bit more, either enjoyable, or a little bit more painful. Sometimes I think groups try to say ‘we’re going to play for six months straight,’ and then take three years off. You know, that’s easy to say, but a lot of things happen to people in six months that you cannot reverse. Especially if you have young children. Six months, they’ll be completely different little creatures by then. We don’t want that. We want to make our music, do our performances, do all these things because we love what we do, not put one thing that we love on hold so we can have another. We want to have it all at the same time.

M: On the positive aspect of that, do you have any good tour stories?

WC: (Laughs) I don’t know, a lot of times there’s not that much crazy shit going on. When we played at Bonnaroo about a month ago, you play into the night pretty long, and there’s a lot of young people there that are doing drugs and stuff. So those [gigs] always play more into the good old rock and roll stories. After we got done, it was about ten minutes after three in the morning, I went over to the LCD Soundsystem stage, where they had just started their set – and I sort of Tweeted about it the day afterward – but this big, naked guy sort of attacked the stage.  Me and, what’s this comedian’s name, Aziz Ansari? – this giant, freaked-out naked guy, had to be doing some acid or something, simply attacked the stage, and we sort of had to hold him down until the security guards could take him away. It was a very strange, charged moment, where that doesn’t happen to you every day. You know, where you’re suddenly assailed by a 300-pound, naked guy, and he’s all sweaty and he’s drenched. That’s probably the last phenomenal rock-and-roll moment that happened to us.

M: I guess at that moment you’re glad that you pump iron five times a week.

WC: I don’t do that much, but I do yoga almost every day. So, yeah, you’re glad that you have energy and you can react and you don’t feel intimidated. I know you’re saying that jokingly, but I mean it. To be in a group, and to do all these things; you wouldn’t want to do it if you don’t have a lot of enthusiasm. So yeah, I jumped right to task. We didn’t really want to. The guy was very strong but he was pretty slippery, because he was so sweaty. The slipperiness made it impossible to grab him. It’s a good trick. If you’re ever going to run from the cops, strip yourself naked and be slippery.

M: Sure. I should probably carry some cans of grease, too.

WC: (Pauses) Then their only solution is to tase you.

M: You’ve also toured Europe and around the world. Any places you’ve enjoyed outside of the US?

WC: It’s all pretty great when you’re a group like the Flaming Lips. Most everywhere that we would go nowadays, we’re invited to play by a group of enthusiastic ‘freaks.’ We just recently went to Croatia, and we played the Glastonbury Festival (in UK) and got to see Snoop Dogg, meet Mick Jones from the Clash. Hang out with Damien Hirst. There’s a lot of great things that can happen to you simply because you’re just traveling the world all the time. But the other side of it is that you spend a lot of time in airports and on airplanes. Sometimes you get done playing at two-o-clock in the morning, and you have to get to the airport at four-o-clock in the morning. Running from one show to the next, everything is ‘hurry hurry hurry’ all the time. Sometimes I think it’s too many experiences. It’d be like having to eat twenty meals in one day. There’s just no way you can enjoy all the things that are happening.

M: Do you have anything new on the horizon?

WC: We’re always – I don’t know if ‘contemplating’ is the right word – but you’re always considering new musical ideas, new things that you want to play into. We’re always doing little movies and little videos. I just shot an ending of a video for a song on Embryonic called “See the Leaves”. We were shooting this guy on the north side of Oklahoma City who has a big acreage where he’s burning a bunch of his brush that he had chopped down. So we saw this giant fucking bonfire. We shot for an ongoing piece in our storyboard there. So it’s always a kind of combination of everything: new music, and new movies, new videos, new things for our website, new toys, new t-shirts. Everything is a Flaming Lips creation. The great range of things that you can do readjusts your focus on music.

M: Last question: Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs made a brief appearance as a frog on Embryonic.  Would you consider a fuller collaboration with her?

WC: These are definitely collaborations of a sort. I don’t know. For me, I’m more comfortable doing these types of collaborations, where I have the song written, and I have the arrangement, and I just simply call Karen and say ‘All you have to do is be you, and I’ll do all the work.’ A lot of artists don’t really want to collaborate in the sense that people think they do. The art is a lot of times just made very intensely. You simply say, ‘I like this and I don’t care what you think.’ That is in a lot of ways how art is made. And when you’re collaborating with someone that you love and admire, the way that I was working with Karen O, it’s not so much a collaboration, as it’s me giving her a format for her to be her pure self. And that’s different than us writing a song or writing lyrics or writing an arrangement together. So, I don’t know. If whoever called me up and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do this,’ I would always be open for it. I’m open to new experiences and new failures or successes. But I could understand how a lot of people wouldn’t be. It’s nerve-wracking; it’s not always very pleasant. I try to make ours as easy, as quick, and as pleasant as possible. They simply can do this little thing, and be part of this bigger thing. That’s why most artists would want to do it in that way, more than a ‘Hey Henry (Rollins), why don’t you write a song today?’ A lot of people will do that to us. I’ll say ‘not really, but I will, if that’s what we’re doing.’

M: You’re definitely right: you talk a lot. But it works with interviews.

WC: (Laughs) I know I paint it like it’s going to be torture, but I’m trying to give you as much a lay of thinking about me as you can. Make me sound cool.

The Flaming Lips will be playing on 10/10 in Austin, TX. You can buy tickets here.

The Flaming Lips – Race for the Prize

The Flaming Lips – Fight Test

The Flaming Lips – It’s Summertime

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Urban legends and Hollywood productions certainly have a hand in molding the common perception of being in a band. Want a bowl of M&Ms in your room after the show, with all the brown ones removed? It’s on the way, sir. How about suggestively introducing some groupies to live seafood? Sounds fun. Between urban legends like these and the handful of pseudo-rockumentaries in the vein of Almost Famous, the romanticized concept of existing within a popular band has existed at least since the British invasion’s introductory use of rock ‘n’ roll stereotyping in the early ‘60s. Since that time, what these aspects of film often seem to overlook are the artistic obstacles involved in this creative process. They instead choose to focus on the overly grandiose lifestyles and unique personalities of the band members themselves, often showing artistic struggles as the result of drug addiction or non-commitment. After all, what is going to sell more: sex and drugs or watching an aging band attempt to write songs together? Commercialism tells us that it is the former, so it remains difficult to criticize these filmmakers for attempting to make the elements of existing within a popular band accessible and engaging. To deal with such expected fallacies though, looking at the reasons for the California-based Klum’s imminent success should enlighten many fans in regard to the inner-workings of a successful group more than any overly dramatized film or VH1 special.

When one looks back upon the most successful rock groups of the 20th century, it is distinctive that practically every group was based on collaborative quality. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd all had some members that attracted the spotlight more than other members, but their mutual infusion of collaborative quality was a distinction that allowed their music to live without any major constraints that ended their careers as a group too abruptly. Many of these groups included members that could pick up nearly any instrument and start strumming away to perfection, indicative of their musical talent but also of their willingness to make communication between members as clearly as possible. Instrumental differences are a common detriment to a cumulative songwriting process, as the greatest songwriters tend to exhibit audible mastery of every instrument included in their work. Being a multi-instrumentalist or at least having a respectable grasp of a broad array of instruments makes working with others significantly easier, as their ideas can be extracted easily and fused with others to create something genuinely worthwhile. The six members in Klum are all multi-instrumentalists and it allows their songwriting to serve as a display of an extraordinarily impressive cumulative effort, reinforced by a mutual dedication to melodic astuteness and successful pop experimentation that each member demonstrates in their own unique way.

Klum’s second full-length album, We Carelessly Turned Amazingly Into Nothing, can show the band’s excellent chemistry just in the quality of the eleven songs alone, but experienced listeners will likely walk away more impressed by their ceaselessly unpredictable approach and tactful cohesiveness. Klum delivers the type of experimental pop music that hardly sounds experimental, an oddly exciting result that derives from infectious melodies, uplifting brass arrangements, and an unpredictable assortment of instrumentation and vocalists. As far as the classification of their genre goes, Klum and their efforts on We Carelessly Turned Amazingly Into Nothing are not restricted by any linear stylistic identity. “For Sale a New Life” plays like an amiable indie-pop charmer with its twinkling keys and ukulele accompaniment, while the fascinating “The Showmen” benefits from boisterous electric guitars, backing pub-like yelps, and concise brass arrangements. The former sounds like some spawn of Unicorns and The Leisure Society, while the latter finds distinctive comparisons to Elbow, British Sea Power, and art-rockers in the vein of Franz Ferdinand and Dogs. These comparisons alone suggest a vast difference in style on a track-by-track basis, which is true. But what must not go overlooked is Klum’s apparent ability to implement the stylistically diverse into a style that is honest, unique, and something that they can truly call their own.

While “For Sale a New Life” does a great job of showing off the band’s indie-pop leanings and “The Showmen” fulfills the task of successfully exposing Klum’s grittier, rock-oriented side, it is a few of the more interesting tracks on We Carelessly Turned Amazingly Into Nothing that really make it one of the most memorable debuts of the year thus far. The opening “Bashing for the Kids” plays with over-the-top guitar riffs and ardent vocal deliveries in a way that Black Kids would envy, indicative of Klum’s ability to bring out the expressively effective without appearing melodramatic. In fact, Klum seem free-spirited and fun most of the time, even during the somber chamber-pop balladry of “My Baby’s Just Stardust” and the twinkling build-up to the distorted angst of “Our Monster’s End.” Perhaps the biggest gem on the album though comes from “Nonbeliever”, an undeniably fist-pumping frenzy of a track that shows the group’s talents most prevalently. The various vocal melodies howl like wolves at the moon when the first verse is introduced, led astray over a catchy piano progression and a variety of samples that allow the song to be simultaneously haunting and infectious. The overlapping vocal harmonies of Brock Flores, Joe Fraley, and Aaron Arkenburg allow concurrent high-pitched and low-pitched vocals to supplement the brilliant intricacies of “Nonbeliever” as it flawlessly concludes the track. “Nonbeliever” should be all a listener needs to be convinced of Klum’s blatant ability, but the likes of “For Sale a New Life” and “The Showmen” also do a fine enough job. In fact, if I were forced to choose one track to represent this album, it would prove extraordinarily difficult. We Carelessly Turned Amazingly Into Nothing is too consistently memorable for such linear classifications.

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Klum – Nonbeliever

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Klum – For Sale a New Life

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Klum – The Showmen

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One hit wonders are certainly a fascinating concept. An artist with the fortune of executing one brilliant idea can live quite a luxurious lifestyle with minimal work, even if most artists who instead release numerous albums that are all enjoyable often end up barely scraping by. Sure, most of us can agree that the music industry does not reward its inclined occupants based on effort, but what is the deciding factor then? Most of the time, it seems to be based on chance and commercial reception more than anything else, which hinders the ability that independent music has to emit originality and selflessness. The effect may be indirect, but the hordes of artists that compete for the one breakthrough single that earns them a cool million or two inherit an ideology that proves detrimental to the values of artistry in general. Striving for monetary success is an ideal that has been firmly enforced in society, even if its tendency to overlap into business, sports, and the arts has caused aspects like effort, commitment, and morality to lower themselves within the hierarchies of success. Independent music, though, seems to retain selfless intuitions for success. It seems to prevail momentously in the arts, mainly because the results affect its followers on an emotional level.

Existing within this realm of independent music in a form that is too transparent for their evident talents, The Kingsbury Manx are a fine example of a group that have never been deterred by the allure of cheap ambition. Their four albums, all released this decade, have shown the North Carolina-based quartet to be a band that values consistency just as much as they do radio-friendly accessibility. It would be hard to select any of their four albums as their best, as their lush mixture of throwback pop and country (with tinges of psychedelia and rock) has remained a successful concoction that has never grown tiresome or uninspired on any of The Kingsbury Manx’s releases. The group’s history is pretty traditional, as they follow a long line of schoolmates-turned-bandmates that met in middle school, separated for a bit in college, and then reunited to infuse their artistic compatibility. For college, the four members all stayed within the boundaries of North Carolina, with half attending UNC-Chapel Hill and the other two studying at Wilmington. Both The Kingsbury Manx’s adoration for their home state and their unintimidating demeanor is indicative on their MySpace, where their celebratory response to UNC’s NCAA win is profiled in a plethora of photos. It looks like the MySpace for a high school sports fan rather than a professional band, but it fits surprisingly well with The Kingsbury Manx’s unpretentiousness and artistic values.

The Kingsbury Manx’s rise to success has been slow but steady, seeming to escalade slightly with each successive release. Their four albums came within the span of 2000 to 2005, demonstrating a rapid sense of workmanship in addition to the consistency that eventually resulted in a sizable fanbase by the release of their previous album, The Fast Rise and Fall of the South, in 2005. Four years has probably seemed like a lifetime to fans that were accustomed to The Kingsbury Manx’s quick releases of LPs and EPs, but it has certainly paid off with the release of their fifth album, Ascenseur Ouvert!. Their sound has always been accessible, mainly because of the influence that British ‘60s pop has had on them. The Kinks, The Byrds, and even Pink Floyd’s lighter fare have a prominent influence on The Kingsbury Manx’s fusion of blissful chamber-pop and ‘60s psychedelia. Beginning with their second album, Let You Down, The Kingsbury Manx have explored more ambitious moods and styles in addition to their accessible vein of pop. Each album has appeared to involve more modernistic styles like alt-rock or Americana, but their admiration of ‘60s British pop remains prevalent. On Ascenseur Ouvert!, the four-piece have used their decade-long experience and growing stylistic ambitiousness to present an impressive release that capitalizes on both their British influences and native American roots.

As a whole, Ascenseur Ouvert! is accessible from the get-go due to an approach that uses both the group’s conception of familiar pop music and an album format that features short-but-sweet tracks that rarely exceed four minutes. These never seem to waste even a second of time though, as the lush vocal harmonies and melodic assortment of keys and acoustics make tracks like “If You’re on the Mend, I’m on the Move” and “These Three Things”. The infectious “Over the Oeuvre” is more brisk with its pulsating keys and trickling synth line, but the vocals of guitarist Bill Taylor and drummer Ryan Richardson are serene and whimsically delightful enough to make even chaos seem uncharacteristically relaxing. Save for the budding strings of “Minos Maze” and the subtle orchestral usage in “Shoulder Stories” and “Well, Whatever”, the album never strays far from a familiar and consistent stylistic territory. The aforementioned tracks with orchestral implementation tend to echo contemporary chamber-pop acts like Field Music or Belle & Sebastian in their approach, occasionally resulting in even greater heights than on throwback Brit-pop efforts. Even on those though, the album reaches sweeping heights that rivals all of The Kingsbury Manx’s previous efforts. They may not have reached household-name status yet, but their consistency should pay off after Ascenseur Ouvert! is warmly received. Not everyone needs a one-hit-wonder to achieve success; for The Kingsbury Manx and most enduring artists, their eventual recognition will arise from consistency and durability.

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The Kingsbury Manx – Well, Whatever

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The Kingsbury Manx – If You’re on the Mend, I’m on the Move

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The Kingsbury Manx – Over the Oeuvre

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Though it is a risky venture to release a double album even if you are a considerably prestigious artist, the bulk of such releases usually derive from artists who have already made a reputable name for themselves at a time when they can afford to take risks. I can use two classic albums from 1996 as an example; Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collies and the Infinite Sadness and 2Pac’s All Eyez on Me were released by both artists at their commercial and artistic peaks. 2Pac already had a platinum album to his name, with his previous Me Against the World reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 upon its release. The Smashing Pumpkins’ prior album, Siamese Dream, also saw a similar range of success as it reached #10. The Pumpkins were the kings of alternative-rock at the time and 2Pac was the king of hip-hop during the same era; they had substantial room to take risks and both artists vastly benefitted from their decisions. Both double albums are now considered classics of their respective genres, but that is not often the case for other attempts when applied to a format that some find overwhelming due to aspects like length, stylistic repetition, and even price. It does not help that most of today’s listeners tend to be an impatient group, with it being a feat if many of them could even sit down and listen to an album in its entirety.

For an artist who opts to produce a double album, it is arguably vital to have a sense of confidence in regard to their own stylistic ability. Unless the songwriting can be widely classified as ingenious, few artists can release such a lengthy album without their style becoming tiresome by the last few tracks at best. This is one of the primary reasons why most double albums we see are from artists who have already had their successes and bumps in the road, as experience is the most imperative tool in crafting something successful of a lengthy duration. Pink Floyd had delicately constructed the epic release of The Wall in 1979 after already writing a slew of legendary albums like The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, releasing the renowned double album in ‘79 after 10 albums and 12 years of working together. Such a practice is most common amongst artists, with experience and success contributing to a high degree of confidence that consequently results in aspirations for a release of epic proportions. Keeping that in mind, for an artist to debut with a double album showcases a form of confidence that is rare even among the most experienced artists. Whether they can live up their own lofty impressions is often a flawed cause, but Benji Hughes’s debut, A Love Extreme, has pulled it off so seamlessly that it is not even slightly pretentious or overbearing. Instead, the native of North Carolina has produced one of the best debuts of 2008.

Within the 25 tracks that encompass A Love Extreme, Hughes’ topical tendencies stray anywhere from taking mushrooms before a Flaming Lips concert to being stood up at a Dairy Queen. “I’m more alternative than Suicide Girls,” he goes on to say during “The Mummy”, a rather apt indication of his cultural awareness. An awareness of so-called “hipster culture” is something that he does quite humorously, with the majority of it being in satirical form like the bouncy, topically self-explanatory “I Went with Some Friends to See the Flaming Lips”, the synthesized dance-pop of “Why Do These Parties Always End the Same Way?”, and the infectious electro-funk of “Neighbor Down the Hall”, a tale of the effect of loud music on an irritated landlord. His outlook on youth culture is amusing because he manages to make a mockery of it while not disbanding and dismissing it entirely, using realistically humorous anecdotes to often emit a central focus. Since it is a double album after all, this is wisely not the only prevalent topical focus. Hughes also has an extreme capability to craft resoundingly successful love songs, whether they are in the form of a ballad or an infectious interpretation of electronic pop. Tracks like “All You’ve Got to Do Is Fall in Love”, “Waiting for an Invitation”, and “So Much Better” variously employ gentle acoustic and key progressions, while a brisker effort like “Even If” showcases a suave mixture of key-led pop and jazz. All of the aforementioned provide excellent results though in a romanticized atmosphere, particularly the brilliant “Even If”, which finds Hughes treading successfully somewhere between The Walkmen and The Divine Comedy.

Though Hughes’ diversity causes comparisons to The Walkmen on “Even If” and even Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy on “So Well” to arise, his multifarious topical ability is more reminiscent of Stephin Merritt, the leader of the Magnetic Fields. Like Merritt, Hughes is able to simultaneously generate ironic, satirical, and witty remarks over a ceaselessly expanding array of musical styles. It also helps that his voice is similarly low, musky, and also highly melodic. One of the album’s catchiest tracks, “You Stood Me Up”, fuses power-pop in the verses with an utterly irresistible chorus that is largely dependent on electro-rock. Its humorous lyrical content is subtly accompanied with rejection and somberness though, as is more evidenced by a track like “All You’ve Got to Do Is Fall in Love” where he begins by asking (or pleading), “Wouldn’t it be sweet if you could be in love with me the way I am in love with you?” For a more direct relation to the Magnetic Fields, “Love is a Razor” reminds me of Merritt’s “Love is Like Jazz” for its witty metaphorical stance. “Love is like a razor, it’s cold and it’s sharp,” Hughes delicately croons over the gentle strum of an acoustic guitar, adding another one to a sprawling list of concurrently humorous and ironically tragic songs.

How so many songs can be simultaneously humorous and tragic is part of what makes Hughes’ album so impressive. The very same thing can be said for Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs, another comparable epic that incorporated a massive array of styles, unpredictable topical frequencies, and amusing references to pop (and independent) culture. Many of us consider that album to be a classic As usual, you can find three recommended samples from the album below, but buying the other 22 tracks for less than $14 should be a no-brainer. It is quite impressive that Hughes has crafted 25 tracks for the album and none of them are lacking in either effort or quality. “When it was time to put it all together, we didn’t want to leave out too much,” Hughes replied when asked about his choice of releasing his debut as a double album. “It just didn’t seem right to leave out too much because it represented where we were when we began all the way through until now.” For the sake of his listeners, it was certainly a wise decision, as each and every track is clearly a great effort that most often results in a unique success.

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Benji Hughes – Even If

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Benji Hughes – You Stood Me Up

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Benji Hughes – All You’ve Got to Do Is Fall in Love

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New West Records

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When The Mars Volta emerged in 2002 with De-Loused in the Comatorium, one of the most uniquely exciting debuts of the past several years, the widespread acclaim for the release also brought attention to the originating projects of the members involved. The immediate form of exposure for the hotly anticipated Latin-American rock experimentalists had led numerous freshly faced fans to post-hardcore quartet At the Drive-In, the previous project that was led by chief Mars Volta members Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. When At the Drive-In split in 2001, it appeared as if the 5 members had chosen to split themselves up nearly evenly and contrastingly go their own separate ways, eventually to find success in comparable forms. Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez, of course, went on to form The Mars Volta in 2003. The other three members – guitarist Jim Ward, bassist Paul Hinojos, and drummer Tony Hajjar – formed Sparta, an acclaimed act that specializes in post-hardcore, similarly to At the Drive-In. Though the genre is hardly my cup of tea, it is easily recognizable that both Sparta and At the Drive-In truly excel at their intended style, with the latter being one of the most influential post-hardcore bands of the ’90s. Though originally influenced by the eclectic likes of The Smiths, Pink Floyd, and Fugazi, all 5 members gradually established themselves during their run together as At the Drive-In as durably invigorating musicians by crafting a sound that was enjoyably unfamiliar to even those knowledgeable fans who dwelled on the early punk scene in DC.

Now that both remnants of At the Drive-In have found a substantial amount of commercial success, I suppose that Jim Ward felt the current time to be the most suitable for exploring an entirely different musical style altogether. Playing an even more prominent role in Sparta as the chief songwriter and lead vocalist, his name is at an all-time peak in terms of popularity. With that in mind, his formation of Sleepercar appears poised to gather a distinctively respectable following. A solo project with a steady group of backing musicians, Ward founded the first traces of Sleepercar sometime in 2000 while touring in Japan with At the Drive-In. With the group on their farewell tour, Ward wrote “Fences Down” during a sound check. It later proved to be the first Sleepercar track ever written, touching on a style that surprisingly most resembled an accessible form of alternative-country. After stumbling upon some friends who introduced Ward to country greats like Gram Parsons, the former At the Drive-In guitarist became infatuated with the style. Sparta was formed less than a year later, eluding to a sound that was generally comparable to At the Drive-In. However, Ward also made an effort to turn his solo-led musings to audible form, heading to a west Texas studio in 2002 to record some premature demos. While there, he met future collaborator Chris Heinrich, who provided lap steel on a couple of the demos. The funny thing is, if you looked back on Ward about 15 years ago, the idea of putting a lap steel in one of his songs would probably sound like some sort of joke. Well, it is amazing how much a new sense of maturity can contribute to a songwriter’s growth, development, and sense of ambition.

This aforementioned collection of demos eventually provided to be the initial structure for Sleepercar’s debut album, the suitably titled West Texas. The majority of the album was recorded between a loft in El Paso and Ward’s home studio, with an enlistment of several other musicians that included Heinrich, pianist Gabe Gonzalez, and drummer Matthew Schmitz. Ward also brought in some familial connections to contribute on the album; his father, Jeff Ward, and his brother-in-law, Clay Anderson, provided additional bass and guitar, respectively. As is easily noticeable throughout the 11 tracks on West Texas, Ward’s ability to make a complete transition into new stylistic territory is nothing short of impressive. Considering that he is continuing as the frontman of Sparta, one can only imagine the effect of juggling two very different styles at once. However, with Ward’s apparent aspects of organization and sheer melodic skill, those who doubt his intentions clearly have not listened to his new material. Looking back now, the amount of talent that existed in At the Drive-In was undeniably ample. With fans from both At the Drive-In and Sparta becoming increasingly interested in Sleepercar, expect this album to get plenty of press by the time it drops on April 22nd. Listening to it the past couple days or so, I expect the feedback to be consistently positive.

Ward’s mixture of alternative-country and conventional indie-rock provides for a generally pleasurable listening experience on his solo debut. He recalls distinctive influences like Gram Parsons and Woody Guthrie in a way similar to that of Jeff Tweedy or Ryan Adams, though his use of conventional structures creates a sense of dependable accessibility that is more in the vein of contemporary indie-rock. In fact, the opener, “A Broken Promise”, serves as an epitome of such a style. That being said, it is also one of the most satisfyingly infectious on the album. As Ward attempts to fight off rampant pessimism with optimistic observations, he successfully provides an array of engaging hooks over guitar-led instrumentation. “Meaning everything you say, living like today’s the day,” Ward sings in a crisp tone over a series of repeating guitar progressions. “The hopelessness will fade away, you’re on your own.” The track is simple enough, but Ward finds solace in its inviting clarity. As evidenced by the more thoroughly executed “Fences Down”, the touch of alternative-country is clearly at full force during a variety of bright spots of the album. The fact that I enjoy both “A Broken Promise” and “Fences Down” to an equal extent is impressive in its own right, considering that both vary in style dramatically. Maybe you prefer the accessible indie-rock of “A Broken Promise” and “Wasting My Time”, or perhaps your taste is more suited to the country flair of gems like “Fences Down” . Either way, regardless of whether Ward is incorporating an electric or a lap steel guitar in a song, West Texas is a resounding success.

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Sleepercar – A Broken Promise

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Sleepercar – Fences Down

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Sleepercar – Wasting My Time

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Concept albums have been a standard in music debate for decades. Whether such an attempt equates to an artistic failure or success is often dependent on the artist itself and their general grasp on the theme at hand. By following a continuous theme and atmospheric intention throughout most of an album, several successful conceptual ideas include Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, or even The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Though those are just three off of a very small list of successful concept albums, you get the idea how surprisingly enjoyable they can be if implemented correctly. Expectedly, we have not seen a successful attempt in quite some time. Of course, no one expects artists to live up to Brian Wilson or David Bowie these days but contemporary artists appear to hold enough knowledge to be well aware that the production of a concept album is risky business. Why risk financial costs and commercial exposure for a flawed artistic expression? Well, it is nice to see that at least one musician has the guts.

It is not entirely shocking that Mirah‘s new album, Share This Place: Stories and Observations, contains an unconventional lyrical theme. Nah, considering that Mirah has always been considered a creatively ingenious oddball ever since her debut in 1997, fans have come to expect the most original of quality from the Philadelphia-born native. The surprising thing? Well, the theme covers the lives of bugs and insects. Bugs? You mean those nuisances that we spray, step on, and exterminate? Yes indeed. Only Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn could think up such a topic and she might also be the only one who could pull it off. The insect-oriented theme was apparently inspired by French entomologist Jean Henri Fabre, one of the first scientists to discover several breakthrough characteristics of insects. Mirah is joined on the album by Spectratone International, a slew of musicians including Lori Goldston and Kyle Hanson of Black Cat Orchestra. It will also be produced by Steve Fisk (Nirvana) and longtime collaborator Phil Elvrum (The Microphones). For Elvrum fans, you may recognize Mirah as the female voice on The Microphones’ Don’t Wake Me Up and Window. Elvrum is often credited as discovering Mirah’s talent, as he also produced her debut full-length, You Think It’s Like This But Really It’s Like This, in 2000 after enlisting her as a backing vocalist for The Microphones.

Apart from the theme, Share This Place: Stories and Observations also inherits a new stylistic progression in Mirah’s area of instrumental expertise. While her previous solo albums contained a diverse array of folk-rock, lo-fi acoustic, and general alternative (even earning her comparisons to Liz Phair), her new album takes a completely new direction that we have not heard from Mirah before. Mirah appears to be calling on her Jewish roots quite vividly in this stylistic transition, bordering on Klezmer music or even Gypsy-folk. While the instrumentals to some songs like “Dinner” sound like they could fit at a Jewish wedding quite well, it is Mirah’s lyrical portrayal that throws any predictable religious assumptions out the window. The lyrics to “Gestation of the Sacred Beetle” may be the oddest form of expression I have heard all year, with Mirah’s description of a beetle’s birth process being quite interesting to say the least. Some will consider it brilliant, others will consider it to be an utter failure. Either way, that is the result of a concept album. I for one enjoy it, if not for the diverse and flavorful instrumentation complementing a form of wordplay that you certainly do not hear everyday.

Mirah took a risk and she succeeded in relaying the similarities between humans and insects in Share This Place: Stories and Observations. As crazy as it sounds, some of her material is very well established. “Gestation of the Sacred Beetle” relates the need for maternal guidance in both insects and humans, as Mirah speaks from the view of a newborn beetle. “My mother made for me this pair, a perfect womb, a modeled lair, where I will grow and eat my share of pastry rich beyond repair,” somehow sounds poetically justifiable over musical accompaniments both originative in Jewish and Middle-Eastern styles. When the song slides into a beautiful instrumental chorus, one cannot help to at least consider the next time they contemplate killing an insect. Well, I will probably continue to do so if it is bothersome, but still, fresh perspectives are always enlightening. Beats a rambling entomology lecture any day. The album will be released with the short film “Credo Cigalia”, directed by Britta Johnson. My guess is that the short film will be about the album’s central topic: insects.

While songs like “Gestation of the Sacred Beetle” or “My Prize” make justifiable themes prevalent and synthetically comparable, I could not help but laugh and roll my eyes at songs like “Emergence of the Primary Larva”. Whether or not it is intentionally satirical, the lyrical content is laughable and the instrumentation is too linear for compensation. Then there are songs like “Song of Psyche” that drag on too long in a repetitive nature, even if the theme if somewhat more acceptable in the emphasis of insectual salvation. However, these are just a few duds to avoid on an otherwise admirable album. Other tracks like “Love Song of the Fly” and “Supper” showcase emotional intensity through impressively composed instrumentation. Mirah’s voice is still lighthearted and sweetly endearing, even if the topics she speaks of are anything but appetizing. When Share This Place: Stories and Observations is released on August 7th, it should be humorous to see the types of reviews it receives. Whether the critics shout “brilliant!” or “horrendous!” is expected, but I am almost positive there will be no in-between stance on this original album.

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Mirah and Spectratone International – Gestation of the Sacred Beetle

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Mirah and Spectratone International – Supper

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Mirah and Spectratone International – Love Song of the Fly

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P.S.: In the middle of writing this feature, I saw a spider scamper across my bedroom floor. No joke.

Yeah, I killed it. Sorry Mirah.

The post Mirah’s Latest Theme… Bugs? appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Experimental music can often prove difficult to pinpoint. After all, what specifically is considered to be the characteristic that distinguishes a style as “experimental”? Would it account for anything out of the ordinary? Exotic combinations of instrumentation? Personally, I often find myself hesitant to label any form of art with an “experimental” tag. Artists clearly have their own inherent intentions and the equatable result is usually deliberate, even if it appears to be skewed or lopsided to the majority of audiences. However, there are always those few indifferent artists who possess the courage to defy the odds and reach for a supreme plateau in innovation, knowing that while critical dismay is the most likely option, a successful result would prove to have a dramatically moving artistic impact. Who Cares How Long You Sink is a collection of musicians from Chicago who have this impressive goal in sight. Led by songwriter and bassist Jason Ajemian, Who Cares How Long You Sink began in 2001 after Ajemian rounded up a few of Chicago’s most proficient musicians in hopes to create something truly memorable. They released their debut a few months later and drew some slight attention with their uniquely aspiring approach. Though the name Who Cares How Long You Sink like some offbeat post-punk project, the descriptive genre for the group is as unclassifiable as they come. Odd? Of course. Experimental? You bet. Ajemian’s project sounds like nothing you have ever heard before, incorporating a plethora of different musical styles and creative traits. In fact, there are so many involved styles that, apart from a jazz influence, the origins are often indistinguishable. This may be in credit to Ajemian’s diverse range, as he is also a member of Chicago-based bands Exploding Star Orchestra, Chicago Underground Trio, Dragons 1976, From Beyond, Loversrock, Lay All Over It, A Cushicle, and various others.

Who Cares How Long You Sink’s second album, Folk Forms Evaporate Big Sky, is one of those releases that is often considered to be absolute rubbish or heralded brilliance by the masses of critics searching for next big thing in innovation. Recorded in The First Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicago, the albums consists of collaborations by thirty-one musicians. Jason Ajemian leads an orchestra full of saxophones, trumpets, harmoniums, cellos, lap steels, timpani, and dozens of others through a prolific musical journey where the group’s primary motive is supposedly “an attempt at making music move at a pace that closer represents the movement and growth of nature.” Nature, as it appears, is one of the slowest growing phenomenas on this planet. However, keep in mind the result is occasionally one of the most breathtaking things in human reality. The same can be said for the music of Who Cares How Long You Sink. While the approach may appear initially overambitious and at times unbearable, the constraint to pay attention to the details will result in an extremely enjoyable experience for those who choose to push aside all forms of elitism and ignorance.

While Folk Forms Evaporate Big Sky contains a mere five songs, each one inherits enough depth and intuitiveness to express more ideas than most contemporary bands have expressed in their entire careers. While it is easy to classify several songs on the album as free-form acid-jazz, that hardly does the innovative style any justice. While traditional jazz-oriented brass instruments and scattered keys do play a large part in the general equation, Ajemian’s double bass and vocal technique are also vital components. His vocals, which often resemble incoherent lyrical content through a series of falsettos, mumbles, and yelps, sets a remarkable tone for creative songcraft, showing a rare form of musical intellect that also breeds a signification of confidence. The album’s most impressive track, “A Glance Shifts”, begins with the sound of an orchestra building up momentum as Ajemian’s frail yet forceful voice incongruously relays several mumbled words. “Just a dream,” Ajemian stammers through the orchestral upheaval, “she’s just a dream with eyes I can hold.” Being one of the only lyrics that actually makes sense throughout the entire album, it comes at a very suitable time. Shortly after Ajemian speaks, a series of down-tempo brass instruments invades the vaguely incorporated melody, sounding like a stampede of angry elephants in such a fashion that would be reminiscent of an early psychedelic Pink Floyd song gone horribly wrong. But this is not a failed experiment at all, instead these styles of innovation are the pure intentions of Who Cares How Long You Sink. The brass instruments during this moment in “A Glance Shift” rushes in like a series of invaders against a familiar territory, deliberately sending a chill up one’s spine as a sensational result of bewilderment and awe.

While no other track on the five-song album reaches the thrill of “A Glance Shifts”, the musicianship in the serene “Like Organic Life” proves to be more suitable for those in need of a less strenuous path, sounding predominately gentler compared to the other chaotic tracks on the album in the form of “A Glance Shifts” or the colorful opener, “Leaves Rainbow”. If you have not noticed by now, the names of the songs are intentionally in the theme of the band’s predetermined focus on nature and its general growth and inheritance on the synthetic thought process. The closer, “Sink In The Water”, is an embodiment of Ajemian’s admiration for jazz. While far from your typical free-form jazz track with the latter involvement of Ajemian’s unconventionally radical vocals, “Sink In The Water” incorporates a nice twist with slight touches of keys overshadowed by a large emphasis on brass and strings. Honestly, I cannot blame you if you find Who Cares How Long You Sink to be overly elaborate, as I expect listeners to be divided on these tracks by either wholeheartedly giving off a sense of binding admiration or irrefutable dislike. I just happen to be one of those few who finds the group to be extremely impressive, possessing a state of boldness to the point where they have no fear of taking risks. That is an aspect that has began to rapidly fade throughout contemporary music, making Who Cares How Long You Sink so much more than thirty or so musicians searching for the next big thing. You can stream the album for free here.

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Who Cares How Long You Sink – A Glance Shifts

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Who Cares How Long You Sink – Like Organic Life

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Who Cares How Long You Sink – Sink In The Water

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I suppose that you could say that Gerald Collier is aware of what most men want. On the cover of his newest release, How Can There Be Another Day?, is a photo of a young woman who is in the complete nude, sensually lounged back on a couch, a cigarette in her mouth. Such a cover should cause an uproar in most record stores, but I do not think Gerald Collier minds much. Taken by famed Russian erotic photographer Igor Amelkovich (who finds women’s nude bodies to be understandably “beautiful and unique”), Collier must find the photo and style of art to be particularly touching as well. I am not studied in the style of that specific art-form, though I can certainly understand how it will catch the eye of those perusing the record stores who actually allow it. Still, this tactic should be considered anything but menacing, as all proceeds from How Can There Be Another Day? are generously being donated to charity. Even though the album is a collection of demos and b-sides spanning Collier’s twelve-year solo career, it is still quite enjoyable to new and old fans alike, featuring six original songs and six cover songs apiece. After all, Collier has the sufficient amount of enjoyable albums and fans to compensate for any commercial loss, also recognizing that at this point in his career, he should be proud that he was never the result of an automated corporate machine. Over the past fifteen years, Collier has uplifted his quiet but durable status within two main projects. Collier made his debut with the Seattle-based rock quartet the Best Kissers in the World in the early 90s. The group found early success, signing with the then relatively unknown Sub Pop in 1991 and releasing a self-titled EP. The EP was touted enough to score them a major label deal with MCA, as they released the Puddin’ EP and their debut full-length, Been There, in 1993 under the label. Been There was an enjoyable assortment of alternative power-pop, also featuring a witty sense of humor with track titles like “She Won’t Get Under Me Till I Get Over You”. Collier was the chief songwriter for the Best Kissers in the World, writing the majority of their songs until the demise of their short-lived career in 1995. The band actually had their second full-length album, Yellow Brick Roadkill, recorded and mastered at the time when MCA dropped them from the label, causing the album to be forever unreleased. Frustrated, the band called it quits. One year after the collapse of the Best Kissers in the World, Collier released his debut solo album, I Had to Laugh Like Hell. In a different approach to his previous releases, I Had to Laugh Like Hell had a more focused emphasis on country-alternative, showcasing Collier’s influences more coherently. An admiration was visible for Willie Nelson and Leonard Cohen, with Collier even describing the release sounding like “Pink Floyd as a country band”. I suppose he was largely crediting his cover of Pink Floyd’s “Fearless”, his first in a very successful string of covers. Collier’s best release came in 1998 with his self-titled solo release, Gerald Collier, featuring eleven songs that were packed with emotion and artistic vigor. While it was an expected continuation of his alt-country approach, the songs were respectably solid with an impacting diverseness also being present, featuring a fair amount of catchy pop swipes and slow-moving rock ballads. For those who were not convinced of Collier’s songwriting talent with his previous releases, his self-titled release proved most skeptics wrong. In the following years, Collier released Low Tar Taste in 1999, took a short break and formed Deer Whistle with Dave Swafford and Tom Nurse in 2001, broke up the band a year later, and then followed it up with his fourth solo album, Breakin’ Down, in 2003. Low Tar Taste and Breakin’ Down were both commendable albums that pleased fans but did not find much in the form of a new audience.

All of the songs on How Can There Be Another Day? were recorded in either 1997 or 1998, during Collier’s creative peak. However, the specific album was just released this year under In Music We Trust in hopes to shine a new light on the largely undiscovered Gerald Collier. At the moment, Collier’s musical future is up in the air, though he hopes to record his fifth solo album shortly. “I’ve confused people with every release. I Had to Laugh Like Hell was a major curveball and Deer Whistle was a curveball too,” Collier said, still sharp with his sense of humor. “I keep telling Joseph to expect a reggae record in two years.” In short, How Can There Be Another Day? should satisfy fans for a short while until the next hopeful release. The album’s birth and original concept came when Collier’s former guitar player, William Bernhard, discovered a bunch of unreleased demos left behind after Collier and his wife had moved to Oregon. Bernhard, also living in Oregon at the time, had dinner with Collier and his wife to show them the newly discovered recordings. The three liked the demos and outtakes so much that they decided to turn it into compilation, equating into How Can There Be Another Day?. On the album, Collier’s covers includes the likes of Leonard Cohen’s “Is This What You Wanted”, Elton John’s “Rocket Man”, The Rolling Stones’ “Jigsaw Puzzle”, and Steve Earle’s “Sometimes She Forgets”. Whether Collier finds satisfaction in it or not, most of the covers outshine Collier’s originals. The cover of “Is This What You Wanted” is nearly spot on and though no one can compare to the raspy and legendary voice of Leonard Cohen, Collier comes pretty damn close. Showing a talent for imitation, Collier appears to be attempting a different vocal approach in each cover, trying to sound like the original artist to the best of his abilities. Either way, the instrumentation and melodic shifts are accurate and memorable, while several particular sections, such as the haunting chorus on “Is This What You Wanted”, makes them certainly worthwhile. “Rocket Man” is one of those covers that does not stray far from the original but still manages to maintain the fun factor and catchiness of the original, being a song that nearly everyone knows and can sing along to. “One Clear Shot” is an original song from Collier, being a good example of what his solo material sounds like. With several hooks and an aggressive vocal output, it is a very enjoyable song (especially for a b-side), though it does not nearly compare to the material on his self-titled solo release. While the covers on How Can There Be Another Day? make up for most of the enjoyable songs on the album, it’s worth the buy and listen, both for personal enjoyment and the $15 donation to charity. This release shows in living color what we were all about,” Collier says of the album. “If you were a fan of our material at all, you must appreciate this offering.”

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Gerald Collier – Is This What You Wanted? (Leonard Cohen cover)

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Gerald Collier – Rocket Man (Elton John cover)

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Gerald Collier – One Clear Shot

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Official Web Site

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The post Gerald Collier Shares Unreleased Covers, Demos, and B-Sides appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Even if naming your band after a Pink Floyd song is a bit cliché, The Julia Dream have enough originality and distinction to pull it off. It also helps that “Julia Dream” was an early b-side, being one of Roger Waters’ less popular songs. At least that aspect can avoid them some hate from the baseless hipsters. The Julia Dream can most accurately be grouped in with bands like Interpol and Editors, showing a likeness for post-punk revival, often translating to radiant guitars, tight rhythms, and noteworthy melodies. However, unlike Interpol and similar modern artists, The Julia Dream have a tendency to be more focused on even darker assets, with a larger emphasis on vocal execution. Though the vocals of Vernon P. Love have a pitch that is slightly higher than most bands of the genre, his melodic incorporation and emotional involvement is similar to the unique approach of Placebo’s Brian Molko. The guitar sounds given off from Sacha Alexander are also reminiscent of such an aphotic touch, often throwing in a shimmer of lighthearted instrumental verses over the progression of several expeditious chords. The rhythm section, consisting of bassist Matt Spatial and drummer Michael Jason, is also expectedly firm. Since their formation in mid-2004, The Julia Dream have established themselves as one of the more noticable bands originating from the Atlanta area. By the end of 2004, they were named one of “Atlanta’s Top 100 Bands” by Civilian Magazine, in addition to several additional publicized compliments. After headlining at several festivals and the Atlantis Music Conference, The Julia Dream headed to the studio in late 2006 to record their first official studio release. The result was a seven-song EP, Above From Beneath, which was released in February.

Though the EP has yet to expose the band to a national variety, a big break of sorts in the near future hardly sounds too radical. With a new album from Nine Inch Nails and Placebo on the way later this year, this specific mixture of industrial, alternative, and post-punk should be gaining steam later in the year regarding radio playability and media exposure. As can be clearly heard in “Transistor”, Love’s vocals play a large role in the factor of success a song from The Julia Dream can have. While the verses express a similar Molko delivery, the powerful chorus indicates a raise in emotion and pitch. Alexander’s guitars are also very prominent, adding several guitar lines to an already lavish chorus. “Aliens All Laughing” is an even more accurate depiction of the Molko signature usage, using the same formula as “Transistor”. Yet again, Love changes his pitch as the chorus rushes onto the scene, though “Transistor” flashes more variability with the added scratching and dripping samples, all which incorporate themselves into the saturated atmosphere quite well. Following “Transistor” on Above From Beneath with it’s repercussive dripping of a faucet, “Barricade” is the most expressive on the album from it’s initial starting point, showcasing the band’s meaningful regard to all things bleak and blighted. “Build a bridge instead of burning it,” Love hints with a pleading sense of optimism, “make love instead of taking it.” Throughout this song of sensitive fury, Love begs for nothing but the returned emotions of a feeling that is ironic to his last name. Like the previous two songs, expect a memorable chorus, that even while similar, is catchy and responsive upon initial listen. For fans of the element, Above From Beneath is a worthwhile listen. Though the lack of differentiation in song structure and production stops this debut from reaching great heights, it’s a promising effort from a band whose passion is highly evident throughout their seven songs.

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The Julia Dream – Transistor

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The Julia Dream – Aliens All Laughing

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The Julia Dream – Barricade

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By now, I must have counted about ten reviews that compare The Fuzz Haunted to the godfather of all psychedelic rock bands, Pink Floyd. Though I think it may be a bit overblown, I’m sure the four band members from Manhattan don’t mind either, as such a comparison is sure to make even the most experienced musicians giddy. The backbone of The Fuzz Haunted consists of Steve Dawson and Randy Lord, both of which sing all of the vocals and play all of the instruments on The Fuzz Haunted’s self-titled debut. The two actually have a long history together, as Dawson and Lord have been collaborating on music for over fourteen years, since 1993. After fronting the theatrical band Ass Franklin and The Strangtecular Band, the duo decided to head in a new direction. Despite previously releasing three albums under the name, Dawson and Lord found a new sense of creativity during the recordings of their newly directed material. In 2003, they had fourteen songs finished, with eight of those eventually ending up on The Fuzz Haunted’s debut. The band describes the album as a thirty-six minute journey into the ream of experimental rock, pop, and psychedelia, with a particular focus on sound effects and feedback. While playing live, Dawson and Lord realized that they didn’t have enough hands to play all of their capable instruments, so they added rhythm guitarist Evan Schneidmesser and drummer James Lord to the lineup. Though the album released in 2005, it is just beginning to receive some proper attention. In addition, those familiar with Steve Dawson may also recognize him as one of the members in the critically acclaimed The Voyces, which I featured here earlier this month. If you’re looking for tracks from The Strangtecular Band, you can find them on Randy Lord’s MySpace, with Bad Ass Franklin having their own page.

I suppose that most of the Pink Floyd comparisons for The Fuzz Haunted’s debut can be primarily attributed to the use of vocals on the album. Aside from the occasional sprinkle of keys and dreamy acoustic strums, they employ too much distortion for the likeness to be as relative. However, one can easily see on “Resume” how the band has a keen sense of style for rhythm and distorted atmospheres, throwing in a repeating catchy riff to keep the listener locked in. When “Better Umbrella”, the third track on the album, immediately followed “Resume”, I was slightly shocked at the comparison between the two. Dawson and Lord immediately shift to a more serene atmosphere with the cohesively layered “Better Umbrella”, an epic seven minute build-up that begins with a glimmering synth pad, follows into an experimental guitar fervor, and ends with a collection of strange and mysterious percussion and samples. Despite the instrumental change, the vocals remain similar throughout the entire album with a surprisingly tender touch, though I suppose this degree of quality should be expected from two individuals who have been working so well together for over fourteen years. The Fuzz Haunted’s debut appears to be split evenly, with four tracks being general alternative pop and the other half being ambiently associated enthralling epics, including “Better Umbrella”, “Bleed Ice Cream”, and “A Very Fine House”. When enjoyably abrupt straightforward songs like “Wet Song” comes into the picture, it’s easy to see that The Fuzz Haunted can create catchy pop melodies as effectively as they can render atmospheric landscapes with experimental guitar implementation and keys. The vocals “Wet Song” seem to be a bit of an ode to Tom Waits, an influence that the band proudly shows. Their influences appear to have a diverse range. Some of the songs remind me of Pink Floyd, others remind me of The Replacements, with a few being reminiscent of early Air or Beck. The utilization of keys and organs in “Oh, What A Day” should bring a grin to your face, with quick little riffs that sound extremely intertwined with the already promising melody. Though it’s relatively short with songs ranging from two to seven minutes, The Fuzz Haunted’s debut is a prime example of musical experience, with a release that Steve Dawson and Randy Lord should both be more than happy to add to their ambitious discography.

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The Fuzz Haunted – Resume

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The Fuzz Haunted – Better Umbrella

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The Fuzz Haunted – Oh, What A Day

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Official Web Site

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