Olivia Tremor Control
Black Foliage
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NATN Recommended
Olivia Tremor Control
Black Foliage
Flydaddy, 1999
RiYL: Dave Fischoff, The Sea And Cake, The Beatles (especially 'Revolution #9') |
The second album from the Olivia Tremor Control is a musical collage in four suites that roosts alone on a most original branch of rock and roll. Black Foliage was recorded over a period of three years, then dissected, re-combined and diffused upon itself to arrive at its present state as a dense musical gumbo, with chunks of pop brilliance floating within a broth of ambient textures and intricate theme variations. If most albums take a couple listens to really understand, this one will take about thirty. But the album ultimately triumphs due to its vastness and complexity.
If you have the equipment, I recommend buying Black Foliage on double-LP, at which point you'd be able to listen to each suite as an appropriate mood presents itself, and occasionally combine them. Like acts in a play, the four sides position similar characters (ideas or phrases of music) in different situations and environments, each introducing and exploring new plot lines, subtexts and drama.
Each act both resolves movements and introduces new ones, with layered tape edits of every conceivable instrument at convoluted frequencies. The music is played by a veritable orchestra including harpsichords and theremins, mailed-in tapes of dreams and environmental sounds, and Beach Boy-sounding rock harmonies.
As usual, the OTC acts as a swell tour guide through its own bizarre environment. In the colorful accompanying booklet, notes explain the album was originally sketched as a series of variations on the main theme (track 17 on the final mix). Over time, it evolved into "edits within edits within edits," the band overdubbing and twisting the bits of music until they ended up with the various "combinations" and "animation sections" scattered throughout the record. There's also a read-along guidebook to the album, with explanations to some of the correlations between the songs and their difficult-to-discern musical makeup.
What is truly admirable about Black Foliage is its distinction in a turbulent region of the arts. While some question certain bands' integrity, saying rock music is created as profitable product rather than an artistic expression, there is no doubt which side the Olivia Tremor Control fall on. The music on this album could only have been created with an immense amount of hard work and dedication. Concurrently, the band's creative vision is unique. Though this record is definitely not for everyone, it reveals its treats to those who take the time to investigate it fully.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.