Eccsame the Photon Band

Last updated
Eccsame the Photon Band
LilysEccsame.jpg
Studio album by
Lilys
ReleasedDecember 1994
RecordedStudio 45, Hartford, Connecticut, 1994
Genre Dream pop, space rock
Label spinART , Frontier Records
Producer Kurt Heasley, Rich Costey [1]
Lilys chronology
A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns
(1994)		Eccsame the Photon Band
(1994)		 Better Can't Make Your Life Better
(1996)

Eccsame the Photon Band is the second full-length 1994 album by the American indie rock band, Lilys, originally released on the spinART label. [2] The album saw the band move towards dream pop. [3] The notoriously nomadic Kurt Heasley refers to this period of Lilys history as EPOCH I, also included is his first seven-inch single " February Fourteenth", the mini LP A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns and Lilys' first full-length album, In The Presence of Nothing. Eccsame the Photon Band was recorded at Mike Deming's Studio 45 in Hartford, Connecticut, [4] largely as duo of Heasley and Harold Evans (of the band Poole). [5]

Contents

This album marks Kurt Heasley's Lilys shift to a slower, moodier, and more spaced-out sound. "I went closest to what my 23 year-old brain could stand with Eccsame— to the edge of my own mortality and sanity", Heasley says. "as far as the period, the energy, the zeitgeist of what we were intending, that was the only time we ever did it." [6]

While Lilys' musical style and approach shifts continually, the early recordings, the debut album In the Presence of Nothing and Eccsame the Photon Band were strongly influenced by My Bloody Valentine. The first seven-inch single “February Fourteenth,” released on Slumberland in 1991, even gives direct tribute to their impact. My Bloody Valentine frontman Kevin Shields is a huge fan of Heasley’s work, and in his book on MBV's Loveless for Continuum’s 33 1/3 series, writer Mike McGonigal called Lilys “the only post-MBV ‘shoegaze’ band that mattered." [7]

Producer, Rich Costey helped to create the album's iconic textures. Interviewed on the history of Eccsame by Edward Charlton of Clicky Clicky Music, Costey explains: "The drum sound was a combination of several things: the hard, open space that the live room at Studio .45 presented...and also the minimal and incredibly powerful, tasteful playing of Harry Evans. Listening to it today, it seems a study in how a drummer should play to the sound presented to him or her, as opposed to the other way around." [6]

Out of print for over twenty years, a remastered vinyl version is being re-issued through Frontier Records . [8] This 21st anniversary re-release includes original artwork and has an enhanced dynamic range with the reordering of songs. "The Hermit Crab" has been moved and now begins side two, allowing for a deeper cut of side one, and allowing increased audio fidelity. [9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
CMJ New Music Monthly (neutral) [10]

The album was described as "one of the Lilys' best" by Jason Ankeny, writing for Allmusic . [3] It was described as "a hallucinatory revelation" by Marc Hogan of Pitchfork Media. [11] Comparing it with the band's previous album, Douglas Wolk, writing for Trouser Press , called it "a much crazier record, and a much quieter one". [5] Andrew Unterberger of Stylus Magazine stated that the album was "not influenced by shoegazing as a genre, but rather as a principle,", calling it "a masterpiece of mood, atmosphere and production." [12] Andrea Moed of CMJ New Music Monthly stated that on the album Heasley "sounds like David Gilmour's slightly less evil twin, numb but not quite comfortable". [10]

"The obscurely titled, Eccsame the Photon Band, is the Lilys' detour into spartan dream-pop," describes AllMusic, "Kurt Heasley's soft, distanced voice is ideally suited to the coldly atmospheric textures of tracks like the languorous opener "High Writer at Home" and the narcotically catchy 'The Hermit Crab', the album is still one of the Lilys' best." [13]

Track listing

  1. "High Writer at Home" - 5:53
  2. (untitled) - 0:12
  3. "Day of the Monkey" - 3:49
  4. "FBI and Their Toronto Transmitters" - 3:36
  5. (untitled) - 0:18
  6. "The Turtle Which Died Before Knowing" - 7:56
  7. "The Hermit Crab" - 3:34
  8. (untitled) - 0:16
  9. "Overlit Canyon (The Obscured Wingtip Memoir)" - 5:15
  10. "Hubble" - 6:06
  11. "Kodiak (Reprise)" - 0:49
  12. "Radiotricity" - 3:41
  13. "Your Guest and Host" - 4:40
  14. (untitled) - 4:54

Personnel

[1] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Bloody Valentine (band)</span> Irish shoegaze band

My Bloody Valentine are an Irish-English rock band formed in Dublin in 1983 and consisting since 1987 of founding members Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig, with Bilinda Butcher and Debbie Googe (bass). Often cited as a pioneering act in the shoegaze genre, their sound is characterized by dissonant guitar textures, androgynous vocals, and unorthodox production techniques.

Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.

<i>Loveless</i> (album) 1991 studio album by My Bloody Valentine

Loveless is the second studio album by the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released on 4 November 1991 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and in the United States by Sire Records. The album was recorded between February 1989 and September 1991, with vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields leading sessions and experimenting with guitar vibrato, nonstandard tunings, digital samplers, and meticulous production methods. The band hired nineteen different studios and several engineers during the album's prolonged recording, with its final production cost rumoured to have reached £250,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Shields</span> Irish musician (born 1963)

Kevin Patrick Shields is an American-born Irish musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and producer, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the band My Bloody Valentine. They became influential on the evolution of alternative rock with their two studio albums Isn't Anything (1988) and Loveless (1991), pioneering a subgenre known as shoegaze. Shields's texturised guitar sound and his experimentation with his guitars' tremolo systems resulted in the creation of the "glide guitar" technique, which became a recognisable aspect of My Bloody Valentine's sound, along with his meticulous production techniques.

<i>Isnt Anything</i> 1988 studio album by My Bloody Valentine

Isn't Anything is the debut studio album by Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 21 November 1988 by Creation Records. Its innovative guitar and production techniques consolidated the experimentation of the band's preceding EPs and would make the album a pioneering work of the subgenre known as shoegazing. Upon its release, the album received rave critical reviews and reached #1 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

<i>Tremolo</i> (EP) 1991 EP by My Bloody Valentine

Tremolo E.P. is an extended play by Irish-English alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released in February 1991 by Creation Records. The EP was a critical success and topped the UK Indie Chart. It featured the single "To Here Knows When", which subsequently appeared on the band's second album Loveless.

<i>Ecstasy</i> (My Bloody Valentine album) 1987 EP by My Bloody Valentine

Ecstasy is the second mini album by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 23 November 1987 on Lazy Records. Released in a limited edition of 3,000 copies, it was the band's final release for Lazy Records and second to feature vocalist and guitarist Bilinda Butcher, who was recruited in April 1987 following the departure of original My Bloody Valentine vocalist David Conway. Ecstasy followed the noise pop and twee pop standards of My Bloody Valentine's earlier releases for the label, drawing influence from various artists including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and The Byrds, and the album distanced the band further from their earlier post-punk and gothic rock sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colm Ó Cíosóig</span> Irish musician (born 1964)

Colm Ó Cíosóig is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, of which he was a founding member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilinda Butcher</span> Musical artist

Bilinda Jayne Butcher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known as a vocalist and guitarist of the shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine.

Lilys are an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C in 1988. The only constant member is Kurt Heasley, with the line-up changing regularly. Several of the band's tracks have been used in television advertisements, including the band's biggest hit, "A Nanny In Manhattan", which reached No. 16 in the UK after being used in a Levi's advertisement directed by Roman Coppola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Only Shallow</span> 1992 single by My Bloody Valentine

"Only Shallow" is a song by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. It is the opening track and second single from the band's second studio album, Loveless (1991), released on Creation Records. Written by Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher, "Only Shallow" features Shields' distinctive guitar sound—a technique known as "glide guitar"—characterized by heavy use of a tremolo bar while strumming.

<i>Blonder Tongue Audio Baton</i> 1993 studio album by Swirlies

Blonder Tongue Audio Baton is the debut studio album by Swirlies, released on CD, LP and cassette. The majority of the album was recorded in the summer of 1992 at Q Division Studios, 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." In 2016, Pitchfork ranked the album at number 11 on its list of the 50 best shoegaze albums of all time.

<i>In the Presence of Nothing</i> 1992 studio album by Lilys

In the Presence of Nothing is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Lilys, co-released in 1992 by Slumberland Records and SpinART. The album was written and recorded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

<i>A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns</i> 1994 studio album by Lilys

A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns is a 1994 mini-album by the American indie rock band, Lilys, released on the SpinART label on 10-inch vinyl and CD. The lead track, "Ginger", was used in a CK1 commercial. The album was issued in the UK in 1998. The album saw the band make their first major stylistic shift; The early My Bloody Valentine-influenced sound had given way to what Trouser Press described as "pleasant, straightforward guitar pop".

<i>EPs 1988–1991</i> 2012 compilation album by My Bloody Valentine

EP's 1988–1991 is a compilation album by Irish-English shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine, released on 4 May 2012 via Sony. It features four of the band's extended plays for Creation Records—You Made Me Realise (1988), Feed Me with Your Kiss (1988), Glider (1990) and Tremolo (1991)—and seven additional rare and unreleased songs.

<i>Yellow Loveless</i> 2013 compilation album by various artists

Yellow Loveless is a tribute album featuring cover versions of the 11 songs from My Bloody Valentine's 1991 record Loveless. The album was released on January 23, 2013, by High Fader Records, coincidentally just after the announcement of My Bloody Valentine's third studio album, mbv (2013).

<i>m b v</i> 2013 studio album by My Bloody Valentine

m b v is the third and most recent studio album by Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, self-released on 2 February 2013. Produced by the band's vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields, m b v was the band's first full-length release of original material since Loveless (1991), over two decades earlier.

"When You Sleep" is a song by rock band My Bloody Valentine on the album Loveless. It was the first single released from the album.

<i>Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music</i> 1998 remix album by Swirlies

Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music is the third full-length album by Boston indie rock band Swirlies. The album comprises remixes of songs from their previous album, They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons, along with soundbites and forays into experimental music. Taang! Records released Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music in 1998 on CD, and also re-packaged most of it as the first disc of a double LP. with the bulk of Salons as the second.

References

  1. 1 2 Eccsame the Photon Band CD insert
  2. ↑ Martin Charles Strong (2003). The Great Indie Discography. Canongate U.S. pp. 836–7. ISBN   978-1-84195-335-9.
  3. 1 2 3 Ankeny, Jason "Eccsame the Photon Band Review", Allmusic , Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 26 December 2009
  4. ↑ Daley, David (1995) "Mary Karlzen's Got a Winner; Tanya Tucker, Try Again", Hartford Courant , June 1, 1995, p.18
  5. 1 2 Wolk, Douglas "Lilys", Trouser Press , retrieved 25 December 2009
  6. 1 2 Breitling, Jay (2014-12-18). "I WILL WRITE A MYSTERY FOR YOU TO SOLVE: An Oral History of Lilys' Astonishing Eccsame The Photon Band" . Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  7. ↑ McGonigal, Mike (2007-01-10). My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   9780826415486.
  8. ↑ "Lilys repressing 'Eccsame The Photon Band' on vinyl; Brooklyn shows are this weekend". www.brooklynvegan.com. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  9. ↑ Digital, Martin Defatte for Guerrilla. "Frontier Records | Independent Label Distribution". www.ildistro.com. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  10. 1 2 Moed, Andrea (1994) "Lilys Eccsame the Photon band", CMJ New Music Monthly , December 1994, p. 22
  11. ↑ Hogan, Marc (2006) "Lilys Everything Wrong is Imaginary", Pitchfork Media, February 22, 2006, retrieved 26 December 2009
  12. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (2003) "Lilys Precollection Archived 2010-02-04 at the Wayback Machine ", Stylus Magazine , 2003, retrieved 26 December 2009
  13. ↑ "Eccsame the Photon Band - Lilys | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  14. ↑ Orgera, Alexandra; Saul, James; Howard, Brian, & Rapa, Patrick (2006) "The Lilys Family Tree Archived October 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine ", Philadelphia City Paper , February 16–22, 2006, retrieved 25 December 2009
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.