Memphis Industries, who first hit our radar with the Go! Team, and more recently the Pipettes, have another headhpones treat on their roster with the psychedelic pop of Steve Webster’s The Black Neon. His album Arts & Crafts is out in the US 9/12.
“The Truth” recalls recent Air, while “Ralph and Barbara” has an an off-the wall Ween vibe. “Hollywood 1,2,3″ is sorta Neu! on Prozac, and guitars. As you can probably guess, there are a hundred other references points to namedrop in describing Black Neon’s reverb melting pot; all you need to know is that Webster combines them with a genius pop sensibility.
Also stream, “TX81Z,” a love letter to oscillator waveforms, here (REAL).
The Black Neon doesn’t play live (not since 2001, at least), so keep an eye on MySpace for all the fun.
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Awesome! Thanks for highlighting this, Scott! This record is as solid as they come. Short and sweet, too, which is always refreshing in the CD era.
Does anyone else hear a TON of Beatles in “Ralph & Barbara”? The other one sounds like if Kraftwerk had covered an instrumental medley of Velvet Underground & Television songs.
i reviewed this record and i thought it was pretty slick
http://www.synapticblur.com/2006/05/03/the-black-neon-arts-and-crafts/
“Ralph and Barbara” sounds like “It Don’t Come Easy” by Ringo Starr. Good song, nonetheless.