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To describe the majority of this album, let's imagine it's Saturday
afternoon and you're bored as hell sitting on your mom's couch,
the one with the plastic cover, and watching the crap they call
quality programming on TV, while wearing nothing but boxers and
a wifebeater. You're sitting there watching this pitiful excuse
for a Saturday afternoon movie from 1972 and it's playing background
music while some bellbottom-exhibiting hippie is walking through
a park, with a brooding, pensive expression on their face, etc.
So anyway, this band sounds like that style of laid back, summerish,
feel good music found on such gems as that sweet movie from 1972.
Now, although the movie was god awful, that is no reflection on
the quality of this album which happens to be quite good.
To describe it in a more modern sense, I would have to say it
sounds like The Shins and The Flaming Lips had a
play date in Athens, GA and the result was Summer Hymns.
Backward Masks is the sixth album by Summer Hymns and you
can definitely tell these guys have some serious indie experience
under their belts. The band is made up of songwriter Zachary
Gresham and joining him are Philip Brown and Chris
Riser.
The name of the band is quite appropriate because it masters
the feel and emotions which can come with summer, including the
warmth, and carefree attitude that summer can bring. The only
complaint I have with the album is that many of the songs seem
to blend into the others, making it seem like there is not much
depth. Luckily, the track "Limousine" breaks completely
free of the carefree style of the previous tracks and really shows
that this band is not a one-trick-pony. The expert mixing of the
many layers on this track with the great beats makes it my favorite
on the album. Most of the tracks on this album are surprisingly
simple, yet contain more complex undertones which will let you,
the listener, come away with as much - or as little - as you may
want.
All in all, if you are a fan of good indie music, these guys
are a must for your personal collection. So why don't you peel
yourself off your mom's plastic couch cover and get down to
your local record store and check Summer Hymns out. You won't
regret it!
-Liger Woods
Track Listing:
1. Way You Walk
2. Pity and Envy
3. Start Swimming
4. Darkness Comes
5. Fearanoia
6. Bombay Brown India Ink
7. Limousine
8. New Way
9. Ice Age World
10. 14 Inches of Snow
11. Pheromones Induced
12. When the Bombs Fall
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