erasing clouds
 

The Fun Years, Life-Sized Psychoses

reviewed by dave heaton

I’ve had the CD Life-Sized Psychoses, by the Boston-based duo The Fun Years, in my life for about a year now. It’s slipped so casually into my life – soundtracking everyday moments – that I keep forgetting that it’s here, and I keep forgetting to write about it. Life-Sized Psychoses begins with crackling noises and organ notes that suggest hip-hop, like someone’s put the needle on a record and a beat is about to drop. Instead of a beat, though, we get dreamy guitar, soaked in ambiguous atmosphere, that circles, play and taunts, loops along until it either becomes a seamless part of your environment or stops you dead in your tracks. That’s key: this is music you can drift along with, but listening close is twice as nice. Turntable and baritone guitar are their instruments of choice, with samples of something-or-other mixed in, but I care less about technique than the end result, which is unraveling, spiraling soundscapes that mystify and cast spells.

{www.bargerecordings.com}


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