TRANSIENT SONGS
http://amplifiermagazine.blogspot.com/2010/05/transient-songs.html
Cave Syndrome
Indian Casino (05/25/10)
Welcome to the machine. We exist in an age wherein rock 'n' roll tends to repeat itself. Regardless of your generational bent, nothing is off limits. Enter Transient Songs, a "band" commandeered by veteran Texan singer/songwriter John Frum with bassist/multi-instrumentalist Andy Gassaway in tow. It's no surprise that the wonderfully wistful Cave Syndrome collection represents the duo's affinity for 1970s psychedelic rock, which is what brought them together in the first place. However unlike many unabashed retro ensembles who simply dress for the part and hire a publicist, TS' delightful debut album gets it right by ably melding all that was appealing about Pink Floyd, Big Star, Galaxy 500, and the trippy incarnation of McGuinn’s Byrds(think Notorious Byrd Brothers) sans the outright aural plagiarism which often runs rampant in the indie rock realm.
Nevertheless, all the ingredients needed to turn off your mind and float downstream are in abundance: legato melodies, bleary guitar lines, plenty of reverb on the keys and vocals, assorted tape effects (which may have been rendered digitally, who knows!), surrealistic lyrics meshed with affection for the opposite sex, fanciful codas, etc. which are all couched in a somnambulant swoosh of a mix that would not be out of place when Richard Nixon was commander and chief. "In This Darkness Light Seeps Through" lopes along with a guitar line straight out of David Gilmour's Meddle repertoire. If someone told you "Greenwood Backyards" was written by Alex Chilton, you'd never ask a second time. "Smoking Slows The Healing" is the stuff of Roger Waters - right down to the phrasing and vocal timbre. Sure, it's all been done before, but if it ain't broke, why fix it?
--Tom Semioli
Transient Songs Myspace
Posted by AMPLIFIER at 6:44 AM
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