Seventeen Evergreen
'Lunar One'
(Lucky013)
Released:23.07.07
Seventeen Evergreen are singers, multi-instrumentalists, &
most importantly storytellers of imagination
& super-reality. Together Caleb Pate & Nephi
Evans exude an organic electronic/rock
hybrid, kite flying amongst sonic sorcerers
Boards Of Canada, MBV, early Pink Floyd
and the ubiquitous Pavement.
As
lead singer Caleb puts it, “We’re
interested in expressing an Eno-esque
nostalgia for the future, a message of
escapist optimism amidst technological
and financial meltdown, and a disappointment
in humanity near and far.”
Lead
track,
'Lunar One' is a haunting adventure
of constant cosmos fascination, with our
traveler leading a determined mission
for advancement, "I'm
comin' up on you, there's not a thing
that you can do..." 'Lunar
One' explores the loneliness, as well
as the heroism, of space exploration &
earthly escapism, "In
space rock(y) (he) went up, in smoke for
the crowd, with lunar ideas he got lost", but he was still "a new star for all to see", his final irony captured succinctly upon
arrival, "what
a messed up place, won't you take me down!"
New
tracks 'Burn
The Fruit' & 'Atlas' further throw the spotlight on
the range of their repertoire. The former,
which emerged from a percussion party
with friends, pits Steve Reich in an imaginary
jam with Talking Heads whilst Hot Chip,
Giorgio Moroder and the aforementioned
Eno fight, superhero gloves off, over
the mixing desk. You'll certainly feel
a more delicate acoustic edge from the
latter, a psychedelic ballad set to a
dreamscape while paying tribute to a tired
and weary Greek titan.
In
addition the inclusion of remixes of album
tracks offer up more surprises. Corker Conboy add extra spine-tingle to
album closer, 'Andromedan Dreams Of An
Octaroon', with strings from Ninja signed Coldcut collaborator John Mathias who wrote and
played strings for Radiohead's beyond-classic
'The Bends.' Corker Conboy themselves have scored
success, soundtracking director Antonia
Bird's Emmy-nominated 9/11 docudrama,
'The Hamburg Cell.' The man who made The
Cure's keyboards extra-Gothic, Roger
O'Donnell, lends further outer-space
to 'Constellation', with his unique floating
gossamer sounds! Finally, we come full
circle with standout Ninja artist Fink acoustically strumming out the soulful
minimalism of 'Lunar One'.
Seventeen
Evergreen's inspiration goes far beyond
the sonic, of course, and the 'Lunar'
EP artwork continues their strong association
with visionaries Encyclopedia Pictura, and which has seen their ground-breaking
video for debut single 'Haven't Been Yourself'
nominated for awards worldwide. Encyclopedia
Pictura have also prepared the visuals
for the live dates that the band will
be performing in London, June 2007. and
are now also working on superstar videos
for Grizzly Bear, Devendra Banhart &
other luminary muso-individualists!
In
all, where others cough and splutter,
Seventeen Evergreen stroll, slowly and
calmly, along life’s many paths, savouring
the detail of every rose, tainted or otherwise,
along the way.
|
