San Francisco has been a breeding ground for
experimental musicians over the years, you need only take a look at its history
to discover a host of influential bands such as Jefferson Airplane, The
Grateful Dead, Faith No More, The Brian Jonestone Massacre, and more recently
Deerhoof, Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall. This
may stem from the fact that some of the artistic energy and bohemian attitude that
enveloped the city during the 1960’s, when it was a haven for countercultural
movements is ever-present.
Hallucinogens must have hung around once the ‘Summer
of Love’ beatniks vacated, as most of the music coming out of there nowadays
seems to hold on to an inherent psychedelic edge. White Fence - a pseudonym used by prolific
song-writer Tim Presley, is one such example of the aforementioned style. And they seem to be joining forces to spread their
brand of psych-noise to the masses, with John Dwyer ( of Thee Oh Sees and
Coachwhips) releasing this album under Castleface Records, a label he part-owns.
Building his career around a lo-fi psychedelic pop/rock
aesthetic, it seems somewhat peculiar to say Cyclops Reap has a quaint Englishness to it
that recalls post Floyd-era Syd Barrett, the purest example of this being track
2, Beat. However, its folk rock quality
is given the Presley treatment to provide a trippy ramshackle sound similar to
other White Fence albums. It is an
altogether toned-down affair in comparison to last year’s collaboration with fellow
San Franciscan Ty Segall on Hair, an album that relied heavily on fast-paced,
fuzzy, screeching guitars.
White Cat is a beguiling song, abounding in tempo
changes, when you think it’s going in one direction it veers off on another, at
one stage drifting along nicely before being abruptly interrupted as it slows
to the point of almost going backwards, then taking off again. Pink Gorilla is a standout track, more attune
to a song like Sticky Fruitman Have Faith from 2011 album, Is Growing
Faith. Propelled forward by power chord
hooks, and accompanied by a simple drumbeat, it provides the album with some much
needed impetus and put the reins on Presley’s at times, excessive experimental tendencies. Whilst, To the Boy I jumped in the Hemlock Alley
sparkles, a sprinkling of high pitched electric guitar notes sitting atop
softly strummed acoustic guitar.
Often the criticism of psychedelic musicians is that
their albums can be quite one-paced, something that could never be directed at
White Fence. Cyclops Reap is a blend of
tempo and rhythm throughout, constantly keeping the listener on their toes. Presley seems to enjoy an unconventional
approach to music-making; he is in no rush to adopt the extravagant sound-desk
to cleanse his ways, instead preferring to leave the imperfections and
idiosyncrasies in place.
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