Product Description

On their 1998 album PLAYBACK SINGERS, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang recorded a collaboration with Masaki Batoh, leaderof the Japanese psychedelic rock band Ghost. The fusion of the Cambridge, Massachusetts, duo's whisper-quiet slowcore sound and Batoh's more freeform, experimental leanings was successful enough that Krukowski, Yang, and Batoh began work on a full album. With guitar, keyboards, reed instruments, electronics, and other instruments provided by the members of Ghost, these nine songs range from extended psychedelic meditations to quiet folk-rock miniatures. Along with the seven group originals, a pair of covers--Big Star's "Blue Moon" and Tim Buckley's "Eulogy For Lenny Bruce" (in an arrangement heavily influenced by Nico's definitive take on the song on her album CHELSEA GIRL)--define the artistic parameters of this delicate, haunting project.

Track Listing

1. Mirror Phase
2. New World
3. Judah And The Maccabees
4. Blue Moon
5. Great Wall
6. I Dreamed Of The Caucasus
7. Don't Forget
8. Tanka
9. Eulogy To Lenny Bruce

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #213065 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-18
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Having left the quiet-core Galaxie 500 all those years ago to pursue their own even quieter path, Damon and Naomi create music that you don't so much listen to as eavesdrop on. Their quiet, atmospheric ruminations have an overheard quality that suggests a slightly altered state of consciousness. Their sleepy rhythms and obscure, symbolic lyrics make for a late-night brainteaser. On this album the Japanese psychedelic group Ghost add guitar and keyboards to the Spartan proceedings, subtly coloring the gentle hues without trampling on the delicate balance. Two covers, Alex Chilton's "Blue Moon" and Tim Hardin's "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce", garner mixed results. Their version of Chilton's tune doesn't quite have the desperation of the original, while the Hardin cover, modelled on Nico's version of the same song (as featured on the sublime Chelsea Girl), achieves a haunted, alienated effect. There is an enticing strangeness to the duo's aloof manner, and just as they never look into the camera, neither do their songs confront head-on the difficult emotions simmering under the surface. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

Pleasant Introspection
While some bands produce "driving" music, D&N's work is more suitable for your funeral cortege. While they may have a new collaborator here, the real ghost that always accompanies them is the spectre of their wonderful work with Galaxie 500, but they have made peace with it. This cd is never going to touch the heights of Galaxie 500, but it's still a mighty fine example of pastoral introspection. " Music to fall asleep to" is usually used as a criticism, but let this lull you into dreams with its gentle textures.