Old Time Religion: Rare Recordings of Jerry Lee Lewis in Church Preachin', Shoutin' and Singin' CD

Old Time Religion: Rare Recordings of Jerry Lee Lewis in Church Preachin', Shoutin' and Singin' CD music Still at the young age of 16 and 17, the members of Retro Lake are evolving into serious musicians and their music reflects it. Continuing their influences by Pink Floyd, Ian McDonald, Chris Squire, Tame Impala, and Toro y Moi, Retro Lake has gone in a more progressive soulful direction. Retro Lake is a force to ...

Old Time Religion: Rare Recordings of Jerry Lee Lewis in Church Preachin', Shoutin' and Singin' buy CD music  

Old Time Religion: Rare Recordings of Jerry Lee Lewis in Church Preachin', Shoutin' and Singin' songs Omaha, Nebraska indie label Saddle Creek built its reputation in the early '90s on the melancholy songcraft of Bright Eyes and angular post-rock of Cursive, soon expanding its sound with the addition of the new wave-inspired, sexually charged the Faint (and spinoff project Broken Spindles) to its roster, a theme revisited by Icky Blossoms. On the trio's self-titled debut produced by Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio), singer/synth player Sarah Boling and singer/multi-instrumentalists Derek Pressnall (Flowers Forever and labelmates Tilly and the Wall) and Nik Fackler share their take on electro-influenced music, delivering a combination of brooding synthesizers, danceable drums, and self-assured melodies to shape their dance-pop sound. While the Faint zoned in on dark rhythms and decadent lyrics, Icky Blossoms take a looser approach, flowing from stripped-down, arpeggiated synth rock (opener "Heat Lightning") to hypnotic, jagged beats ("Burn Rubber") to slow-burning indie rock sprinkled with icy electronic accents ("Stark Weather," loosely inspired by the Nebraskan teenager serial killer Charles Starkweather). The band conjures a sensuous dance party on "Sex to the Devil," whose ominous synth lines combine with the chorus ("Church to god/God to the universe/The universe to art/Art to drugs/Drugs to sex/Sex to the devil") for mantra-like results. Meanwhile, "Babes," with its house-infused beats and lyrics that laud leather-clad ladies and cool club chicks, has the ingredients to accompany a runway show. But the band may have saved the best for last with closer "Perfect Vision," a murky snapshot of friends spending a boring, cloudy afternoon together that dreamily oozes to the six-and-a-half-minute mark with a soundtrack of droning guitar, shadowy co-ed vocals, and distorted trumpets. Icky Blossoms succeed in showing many different sides of dance-infused indie rock with their debut, but there's an unsettled feeling that suggests the trio members weren't entirely sure where they wanted to go with the record. With a more clearly defined musical direction, like the Faint before them, they'd sound more fully committed. ~ Chrysta Cherrie Recording information: Federal Prism, Los Angeles, CA. Personnel: Nik Fackler, Derek Pressnall (vocals, guitar, synthesizer); Sarah Bohling (vocals, synthesizer). Audio Mixer: David Andrew Sitek.