Discovery of a World Inside the Moone
Apples in Stereo's leader, Robert Schneider, never seems to run out of ways to describe the world as a psychedelic place. As the producer forOlivia Tremor ControlandNeutral Milk Hotel(all members of the elusive neotrippy Elephant 6 collective) and the singer-songwriter for Apples in Stereo, Schneider inhabits a world where the lysergic insights ofSyd Barrett,Brian Wilson, andRoky Ericksonnever die. A childlike enthusiasm infuses tunes such as "The Rainbow" and "Look Away," in which a healthy dollop ofBeatlesesque hooks, bright guitars, circus horns, and pop harmonies circa 1966-67 are a sharp contrast from the modern world of endless trip-hop drum loops and synthetic soul. Occasionally another decade slips through. "What Happened Then" has shades ofT. Rexglam rock underneath its dreamy surface. But mostly it's as if someone locked this quintet in a room back in the late '60s and forever deprived them of all cultural stimuli. A worthwhile trip in the time tunnel.--Rob O'Connor