Olivia Tremor Control - Presents: Singles and Beyond
(Emperor Norton/Kindercore)
It's hard for me to not like this record: it's on a label called Emperor
Norton, and it's by the Olivia Tremor Control, a band I've loved since high
school and the days of Dusk at Cubist Castle. While I already had
most of the singles on this collection, I looked forward to hearing
them on CD, as my vinyl was nearly worn out.
My biggest surprise when I heard the CD was that these tracks sounded
exactly the same as they did on vinyl. Perhaps the CD was just
recorded from vinyl--I swear there's surface noise in some of the
songs--though I now realize how lo-fi the original recordings are.
The packaging does a great job of capturing the original artwork from
the first two EP's in full-color. The liner notes give detailed
credits (more than the original records had) and show how
a lot of these songs were recorded 8 years ago.
There's nothing quite like the California Demise EP. It's pure
indie-pop from the days when indie-pop meant something, and 7"s were
statements that people paid attention to. The music on this EP is
somewhat different from future OTC recordings. The lineup is Bill,
Will, and Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum on drums, and the songs are
much poppier and significantly less "psychedelic" than their
full-lengths. However, Will Hart's surreal trickery is heard in "Today, I Lost
a Tooth." The festive "A Sunshine Fix" (a live favorite) and the
Lennon-esque "Fireplace" complete the EP, which was their
self-released debut. This is essential Olivia Tremor Control--a bit
more naive than their full-lengths but showcasing their pop ability.
The other essential element of this CD is "The Giant Day," an EP
recorded in 1994 as the "prelude" to "Dusk at Cubist Castle". This is
a heavily psychedelic record that alternates between the druggy title
track and the pure pop of "I'm Not Feeling Human". My favorite Olivia
Tremor Control song, "Shaving Spiders," appears here and is worth the
price of the CD if you haven't heard it.
The miscellaneous songs were what I was really excited about hearing,
such as the long unavailable split 7" with the Apples in Stereo.
"Beneath the Climb" is a fast but primitive rocker that was
recorded back in '92 by the original lineup. The two songs from the
Apples split are a bit disappointing, sounding not unlike the Apples
themselves. These songs benefit from the lo-fi recording, however,
with a searing overdriven guitar slicing through the mix. It's great
to finally hear these songs, though I'm glad I didn't pay $50 for this
7" back in the day.
The collage pieces that comprise the rest of this CD are okay--you
can see how their collage ability has improved by the time of Black
Foliage. The Olivia Tremor Control (now disbanded) have a very
impressive body of work, and this CD is an essential piece of it.
Though it may not be the best place to start, it's a great look at the
earlier days of the band.
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