The Olivia Tremor Control - 1997 - Those Sessions

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.75 out of 5

Here's a bit more OTC esoterica. These sessions (I hope that doesn't count as a pun) date from some late 90's Peel Sessions, and give us the only taste of the live experience that I know of unless you happened to catch these guys in concert back in the day (I did!). Although obviously lacking the psychedelic tapestry feel of the band's studio creations, this is another essential addendum for a few reasons. Among the couple of song suites present are a few tracks that were either unreleased or were drawn from obscure EPs. We also get a few renditions from the great LP, Dusk At Cubist Castle. More importantly though, the songs are stitched together in a series of mini-suites that almost play like proper EPs. It's also interesting hear the band attempt to fuse their bass/drums/guitar core with various sound effects and odd instrumentation in a live setting.

Leading things off is the only isolated song, non-LP track "I'm Not Feeling Human." The next two tracks are eight minutes each, and meld together about four songs a piece. These sport a far drier sound than their studio counterparts, and truthfully are not as good, but they do have the benefit of sounding very different. Hearing the altered atmospherics and more immediate punch is worth the price of admission.

If you have more than a passing interest in the Olivia Tremor Control, you'll find this an interesting listen. It doesn't come close to upstaging the band's short but masterful recording career, but it adds welcome perspective to that legacy.

The Olivia Tremor Control Vs. The Black Swan Network - 1997 - The Tour EP

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.75 out of 5

About 10 years ago I saw the Olivia Tremor Control in concert. Off to the side of the stage they had a small booth that you'd step into which included a microphone. The idea was that you'd record your dreams and that the band could use it for later recordings. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time for this sole album that utilized the dreams. But you'll hear the murmur of dreams scattered throughout this recording, and the whole mix is a rather tripped out experience.

Obviously intended to be heard on vinyl, this album is divided into two side long tracks. The music exists in a netherworld between the full on psych rock of the band's proper albums and the ambient blur of Explanations II. When you get down to it, the flow of the disc reminds me a whole lot of Frank Zappa's Lumpy Gravy. Don't let that scare you off as this album has a far more organic and less pretentious sound that Zappa's opus (and if you already dig Lumpy Gravy then you're set). We hear a lot of sound collages (featuring barely audible dreams) and on a few spot the band actually kicks into gear for a few moments for a more inviting run of music. The beginning of side two especially stands out with its skittering drum beat and twin theremins. As always with the OTC, you're hopefully attuned to and open to the sound of rapidly flying tape loops and sudden reversing sounds. At a base level this is a pretty top flight psychedelic musical experience.

Even more experimental and out there than the Elephant 6 collective's reputation (of which OTC was a major part of), this Tour EP is a pure strain of strange music. It's a shame that this recording is all but forgotten as it adds an enlightening wrinkle to an already great band's legacy.

The Olivia Tremor Control - 1996 - Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

I pretty much consider the Olivia Tremor Control the best psychedelic band to record during the 90's. Admittedly, I may be a little biased as I was a student in their home base of Athens, Georgia during their prime. Regardless, you need to hear their two long-players, Dusk at Cubist Castle and Black Foliage, if you haven't already. This strange, long out-of-print release cropped up as a bonus disc that came along with the first pressings of Dusk at Cubist Castle. The rumor was that the disc was to be played along with the album for an extra layer of freakiness. Considering that the tracks don't match, nor does the timing of the album, I personally put about as much stock in that idea as the Wizard of Oz/Pink Floyd think (the end of 2001 with "Echoes" does work well as a side note). Seeing as this is an ambient album, I suppose you have nothing to lose by playing both, but we'll look at this as a singular entity.

If you are already acquainted with the OTC, you won't find much of their signature sound present here. This is an ambient exercise very much in the mold of Brian Eno's more amorphous albums. Listening to this either requires a zen-like focus, or you can let it roll purely as background music. There are nine tracks with various tonalities and varying degrees of background noise (much of this was supposedly recorded on an Athens porch), but there's not much to say about the tracks individually.

Sliding through you mind as you try to grasp it, this is a wonderful album to go to sleep with or set up an unobtrusive vibe in an otherwise silent room. It's a testament to the band that they were willing to branch this far out, but this is about as far from the quintessential OTC sound as you can get.