7% Solution
All About Satellites And Spaceships
[X-Ray]
Rating: 8.1
All About Satellites and Spaceships was originally released in 1996.
I know because I already have a copy. In fact, I had two. The original
pressing came with an extra CD to pass along to a friend. I cheaply
passed off the other copy to Pitchfork's main man Ryan Schreiber as
a birthday present. Once again, I now have two copies of 7% Solution, as
their label has reissued it. To the good folks at X-Ray, I say
"Great idea!" The 7%'rs have a new album in the works, and if it's even
just as good as this one, the world of dream pop will be thicker and
fluffier than ever.
Texas is the reason. Not many dream poppers coming out of Texas, 'cept
these guys and Transona Five. (Or, I could be wrong.) The overall mood
of Satellites is early spring, replete with mud on the shoes and a
wide prairie of possibilities. After a brief intro track, "Built on Sand"
uncorks one of those great riffs that sounds like warm, foamy water.
The band admits to stealing some of the lyrics on this cut from R.E.M., but
it's there in the chords, too. Take away all the effects pedals and
it's a great, lost R.E.M. song.
Oh, but there's so much more to this
quartet. "The Air Bends Sunlight" is as chilly and majestic as a castle
wall, circling around a few notes before blowing up. "The Road and the
Common" stands out as "the ballad," and oddly so as the whole album is
moor- thick. Frontguy Reese Beeman has the wistful pipes to pull it all
off; this album easily recalls my favorite album of all time, Slowdive's
Just For A Day. These boys obviously used that album as a
reference point, yet never succumb to making a copy of it. All in all,
simply a beautiful album. (Sorry, but you only get one CD per sleeve
this time around.)
-Jason Josephes