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Blonder Tongue Audio Baton

 
Album Review: Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
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Blonder Tongue Audio Baton

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  • Artist: Swirlies
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: March 26, 1993
  • Genre: Rock

Review

The Swirlies' first full-length album melds noisy guitars, samples, and sweet girl-boy vocals into a disheveled take on dream pop. Where so many dreamy bands polish their sound into pristine oblivion, the Swirlies create a hazy atmosphere that is evocative and unpretentious. Blonder Tongue Audio Baton -- named after a vintage tube equalizer -- combines the elements of the band's early work with more complexity. Songs like "Bell" and "Vigilant Always" juxtapose gentle and brash moments for a spontaneous feel, while "His Life of Artistic Freedom" expands on the Swirlies' noisy, experimental side. The group also shows off their accessible fuzz-pop on the album's centerpiece, "Pancake." The combination of Seana Carmody's demure vocals, big guitars, and burbling Mellotrons makes for one of Boston's most memorable pop moments since the Pixies' "Gigantic." The crunchy rhythms of "Tree Chopped Down" and "Wrong Tube" complement Damon Tuntunjian and Carmody's limpid vocals beautifully, and the sweetly noisy "Wait Forever" sums up the Swirlies' homemade noise pop aesthetic. A mainstay of early-'90s indie music, Blonder Tongue Audio Baton still sounds fresh today. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Bell The Swirlies The Swirlies (0:12)
Bell The Swirlies The Swirlies (4:29)
Vigilant Always The Swirlies The Swirlies (5:10)
His Love Just Washed Away The Swirlies The Swirlies (5:24)
His Life of Academic Freedom The Swirlies The Swirlies (2:07)
Pancake The Swirlies The Swirlies (3:15)
Jeremy Parker The Swirlies The Swirlies (4:14)
Park the Car by the Side of the Road The Swirlies The Swirlies (5:04)
Tree Chopped Down The Swirlies The Swirlies (3:12)
Wrong Tube The Swirlies The Swirlies (5:06)
Wait Forever The Swirlies The Swirlies (4:18)

Credits

The Swirlies (Producer), The Swirlies (Main Performer), Seana Carmody (Guitar), Seana Carmody (Vocals), Seana Carmody (Moog Synthesizer), Seana Carmody (Mellotron), Mark Rivers (Drums), Kevin March (Drums), Rich Costey (Programming), Rich Costey (Producer), Rich Costey (Engineer), Rich Costey (Mixing), Rich Costey (Assistant Producer), Ben Drucker (Drums), Ben Drucker (?), Damon Tuntunjian (Guitar), Damon Tuntunjian (Vocals), Damon Tuntunjian (Moog Synthesizer), Damon Tuntunjian (Mellotron), Kara Tutunjian (?), Andy Bernick (Bass), Andy Bernick (Radio), Dan O'Leary (?), Kerri (Artwork), Kerri (Art Direction), Kerri (Design), Ron (Art Direction), Ron (Design)
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Wikipedia: Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
Studio album by Swirlies
Released March 26, 1993
Recorded June 1992 to Nov. 1992
Genre Indie rock, Alternative rock, Shoegaze
Label Taang!
Professional reviews
Swirlies chronology
What to Do About Them
(1992)		 Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
(1993)		 Brokedick Car
(1994)

Blonder Tongue Audio Baton (sometimes spelled Blondertongueaudiobaton) is a 1993 album by Swirlies, released on CD, LP and cassette. The majority of the album was recorded in the summer of 1992 at Q-Division, Boston with engineer/co-producer Rich Costey. It is possibly their best-known and most critically-praised work, with many critics citing it as a "lo-fi" answer to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. Allmusic calls it "a mainstay of early-'90s indie music."

Some tracks from it appeared, in altered form, on the band's 1994 Brokedick Car EP.

The album is named after an obscure and expensive audio graphic equalizer, made from 1959-61 which was used extensively while tracking the album. It was co-lead singer Seana Carmody's last full album with the group, before she formed the Farfisa-driven and somewhat more pop-oriented Syrup USA.

In addition to the standard track listing, two session out-takes exist and are in unofficial circulation. The first is an unfinished rerecording of "Park the Car by the Side of the Road" and the second is the original recording of "Trudy." The version of "Park the Car by the Side of the Road" that appears on the record is not actually from the BTAB sessions. Rather, it is a remix (with some re-recorded vocals) of a track released as part of the "Error" single in 1991. A later 8-track version of Trudy was eventually released as part of the Simple Machines Working Holiday 7" series. Neither out-take has seen official release.

Track listing

All tracks by Swirlies

  1. "Bell (Intro)" – 0:12
  2. "Bell" – 4:29
  3. "Vigilant Always" – 5:10
  4. "His Love Just Washed Away" – 5:24
  5. "His Life of Academic Freedom" – 2:07
  6. "Pancake" – 3:15
  7. "Jeremy Parker" – 4:14
  8. "Park the Car by the Side of the Road" – 5:04
  9. "Tree Chopped Down" – 3:12
  10. "Wrong Tube" – 5:06
  11. "Wait Forever" – 4:18

Personnel

  • Ron – Art Direction, Design
  • Andy Bernick – Bass, Radio
  • Seana Carmody – Guitar, Vocals, Moog Synthesizer, Mellotron
  • Rich Costey – Programming, Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Assistant Producer
  • Ben Drucker – Drums
  • Kerri – Artwork, Art Direction, Design
  • Kevin March – Drums
  • Mark Rivers – Drums
  • The Swirlies – Producer
  • Damon Tuntunjian – Guitar, Vocals, Moog Synthesizer, Mellotron

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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