Stream Levitation Festival’s A Tribute To Pet Sounds Compilation (Stereogum Premiere)
There are very few people who deny the importance and general enjoyability of Pet Sounds. With his meticulous orchestration, arrangement, and attention to detail, Brian Wilson created a pivotal moment not only in the discography of the Beach Boys but in the canon of American pop music. So with Wilson set to perform the album at Austin’s psych-minded Levitation Festival next weekend, festival organizers the Reverberation Appreciation Society have curated an album-length tribute featuring the Black Angels, Morgan Delt, Boogarins, Shannon And The Clams, Indian Jewelry, and more.
Re-creating a seminal work such as this one is no small feat. That said, this album strikes a unique balance in the degree to which it strays from the original. While no one wants to hear an album of exact replicas, to create an entire collection of tracks with dramatic stylistic changes would be a mistake in itself. And though artists like Indian Jewelry did make some interesting melodic changes, the tribute mostly contains subtle modifications that find a happy middle ground between innovation and mimicry. With this, the album serves it’s ostensible purpose, allowing fans a new way to appreciate an old classic. Listen below.
The Reverberation Appreciation Society Presets A Tribute To Pet Sounds is available 4/29 at Levitation Festival and in stores 5/27. Pre-order it here.