Olivia Tremor Control: Black Foliage (Blue Rose/ V2)
Jon Savage, MOJO, 1999
THE GOOD NEWS is that this double album maintains the high quality of OTC's Dusk At Cubist Castle, which updated the methodology of classic psychedelia (1966-8) to suit contemporary perceptions. Constructed as "a sculpture of sound", Black Foliage transcends its lo-fi, home studio production with excellent editing, slow accretion (built up between 1995 and 1998), planned accident, and – the acid test for any psych group – convincing vocals.
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