Search - Beachwood Sparks :: Once We Were Trees

Absolutely Stunning!

Mark Williams | Sierra Madre Canyon, CA | 06/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I played this album through three times the first day I had it, and I was was still hungry for more! It's not about their influences (which they admittedly wear on their sleeves) and it's not about "cutting edge lo-fi indy alt-psych-country-pop", it's about the SONGS folks, the incredible SONGS. These boys can write a damn fine one, and in an album this long and this complex I can only find one song that is somewhat less than excellent (Yer Selfish Ways, which comes off as well-intentioned filler.) That one track not-withstanding, I believe this is an album of timeless classics that will stand as a testament to the life left in the music scene we are all currently let down by. The arrangelemts are wonderful, the sound is intentionally murky and processed by all manner of vintage effects (love the tape echo on the drums), but the overall impression is that this would have stood up against all the classics of the era they are so inspired by. Every time this cd gerts in my player it stays there for days. My hats off to these guys for releasing a captivating, incredible set of songs."

MY KINDA CAMPFIRE MUSIC

More M | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 02/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great disc...one to listen to by the fire, or outside camping in a sleeping bag with a loved one. All of the elements are there: lots of reverb, twang, feedback guitars, banjos, harmonica, cymbals, acoustic numbers, waltzes. References? Geez, check out other reviews for that! How about the Byrds, Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Buck Owens? But a little heavier on the reverb and feedback than Gram. Some heartfelt lyrics for lovers included, such as believing in the other, sticking together & working things out thru thick and thin, unconditional love, touching stuff like that. Wow, great words and great music....better than the first disc? Check it out!"

Name This Genre

Larry White | AdultPop.com | 12/13/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Our favorite exponents of Country and Western music these days are artists who don't even register on the musical Richter Scale that they got over there at The Grand Ol' Opry. Country music is simply the hook that artists such as Jim White, Clem Snide, and this band, Beachwood Sparks hang their Stetsons on before gussying it up with some of those various forms of pop music which have evolved over the years. Beachwood Sparks take country `themes' (as in `melodies'), country `themes' (as in `topics'), and country instruments (as in pedal steel, harmonica, and banjo) and mix them with a healthy dose of psychedelia, amongst other things, and emerge with a hauntingly weird and lovely conglomeration which we will not herein give a name but to which we will certainly give our attention."