Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle

Last updated
Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle
Olivia Tremor Control - Dusk at Cubist Castle.jpg
Studio album by
the Olivia Tremor Control
ReleasedAugust 6, 1996 (1996-08-06)
Studio Pet Sounds, Denver
Genre
Length74:05
Label Flydaddy
Producer Robert Schneider
The Olivia Tremor Control chronology
Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle
(1996)		 Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One
(1999)

Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle is the debut studio album by the American band the Olivia Tremor Control, released on August 6, 1996, by Flydaddy Records. It is an eclectic album that encompasses a variety of genres, including indie pop, neo-psychedelia, and psychedelic pop. The first half of the album features songs that are influenced by bands of 1960s and 1970s, such as the Beach Boys and the Beatles. The second half features more experimental songs, including two long instrumental songs influenced by drone music and musique concrète. Dusk at Cubist Castle purports to be the soundtrack to an unfinished film, and the lyrics focus on surrealist imagery.

Contents

The Olivia Tremor Control was formed in Athens, Georgia, and the line-up comprised Bill Doss, Will Cullen Hart, Eric Harris, and John Fernandes. Doss and Hart had been writing songs for a studio album as early as 1993, and Dusk at Cubist Castle was recorded at Pet Sounds Studio in Denver, Colorado. Childhood friend Robert Schneider served as the producer, and the recording sessions featured several other musicians, including fellow Elephant 6 (and Neutral Milk Hotel) members Jeff Mangum and Julian Koster.

The first few thousand copies of the album were released with a bonus CD, Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences . It has been claimed that this album will produce quadraphonic sound when played at the same time as that disc. However, the two discs differ in length by approximately five minutes, rendering this an unlikely intention. The Flydaddy 017 release was reissued as a double album with Explanation II as the second disc. This bonus disc was later re-released as a full album by Flydaddy in 1999 but the most recent Cloud Recordings reissues do not include the extra disc.

Background and recording

The Olivia Tremor Control originated as a psychedelic band called Cranberry Lifecycle. [1] This band was formed in Ruston, Louisiana in the late 1980s, by high school friends Will Cullen Hart and Jeff Mangum. [2] After graduating from high school, the two moved to Athens, Georgia, and reworked Cranberry Lifecycle songs under the name Synthetic Flying Machine. [3] Fellow Rustonian Bill Doss joined in 1993, and the lineup consisted of Hart on electric guitar, Doss on bass guitar, and Mangum on drums. The band gained a small following due in part to the psychedelic-infused music, which differed from the prevalent grunge sound in the city. [4] Mangum left the group shortly after its formation, as he wanted to focus on a solo project that would eventually become Neutral Milk Hotel. [5] Doss and Hart then decided to rename the group to the Olivia Tremor Control. [6] Mangum suggested the name, which was intended to be a surreal sounding phrase with no further meaning. [7] [lower-alpha 1]

After the release of the first Olivia Tremor Control extended play — California Demise –in 1994, Hart moved to Denver, while Doss moved to New York City to play in the band Chocolate USA. [9] By 1996, Doss was losing interest in Chocolate USA, and wanted to record more music with Hart. The two reconvened in Athens, and recruited multi-instrumentalists John Fernandes and Eric Harris. [9] [10] With this lineup, the Olivia Tremor Control went to Denver to record their first studio album. Robert Schneider, a childhood friend of Doss and Hart, served as the producer, and the album was recorded at Pet Sounds Studio. [10]

Doss and Hart had been recording songs on 4-track tapes for a studio album as early as 1993. [10] Doss' ideas were more pop friendly while Hart wrote more experimental songs. [10] Their dichotomous partnership during this era drew some comparisons to Lennon–McCartney of the Beatles, although Stereogum noted that both Fernandes and Harris retained creative input. [10] Schneider played on several songs, and other musicians like Jeff Mangum and Julian Koster also contributed. Hart noted that the recording sessions were busy, and estimated that at least eight people played guitar on the song "The Opera House." [10]

Composition

Dusk at Cubist Castle is a 74 minute double album comprising 27 songs. [11] Critics have described Dusk at Cubist Castle as an eclectic album that encompasses a variety of genres, including indie pop, neo-psychedelia, and psychedelic pop. [12] [13] Jason Ankeny of AllMusic also notes the influence of other genres, such as krautrock, noise music, and folk rock. [14] While discussing the music as a whole, Stereogum described Dusk at Cubist Castle as a "maximalist analog production, sonically distended with so many different ideas that it sounds a little different every time you hear it." [10] The album purports to be the soundtrack to an unfinished film titled Dusk at Cubist Castle. However, no such film ever existed. [15]

Some critics have found the first half of Dusk at Cubist Castle to be the more immediate and easily accessible than the rest of the album. [11] [13] Zachary Houle of PopMatters describes these songs as "Beach Boys meets late-period Beatles in its take on psychedelica". [11] "Jumping Fences" and "Define a Transparent Dream" are among the more notable songs that are indebted to 1960s and 1970s bands. [11] [13] [16] Houle compares "Jumping Fences" to a lost Badfinger song, while "Define a Transparent Dream" is reminiscent of David Bowie's "Changes." [11] Paul Thompson of Pitchfork does note that while the Olivia Tremor Control are heavily influenced by these bands, they interpose their songs with what he describes as: "weird left turns, with hooks that seem to bubble out of nowhere before receding into themselves." [13]

The second half of the album features more experimental songs, influenced by drone music and musique concrète. [11] [10] When asked about the inclusion of these experimental songs, Fernandes said: "We wanted to change the way people listen to music ... Make people who love the Beatles also appreciate John Cage." [10] An example of this experimentation is the suite of ten consecutive songs all titled "Green Typewriters". [11] The eighth song in the suite is nearly ten minutes, and is a drone piece that features the sound of standing bells, typewriter keys, passing cars, and dripping water. [11] [10] The album's title track is a similar drone piece, which Houle compared to the music of a bad haunted house. [11] Houle does note that not every song on the second half of the album is experimental, and highlights the final song "NYC-25" as a "jaunty country rock number that leaves an aftertaste of the Beatles yet again." [11]

Dusk at Cubist Castle focuses on surrealist imagery, in particular dreams. [12] [13] Hart described the album as "dream music for your mind." [17] Thompson identifies the opening song "The Opera House" as an example of lyrical surrealism, as it mentions going to the movie theater to simply watch the actors move their mouths. [13] Other topics found throughout the album include a dream that features model headshots of Gertrude Stein, and a cosmonaut who is too transfixed on the thoughts in his mind to speak. [12] [13] Many of the lyrics found throughout Dusk at Cubist Castle are sincere and happy, which Stereogum noted was different from the prevailing ethos of 1990s indie music, which focused on disillusionment and irony. [10] In a 1997 interview, Doss said he wanted the Olivia Tremor Control's music to instill a sense of "mystery or happiness" in listeners. "I'm sending out a positive message, because the world needs it ... We're reaching for something that's hard to explain." [18]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [14]
Alternative Press 4/5 [19]
The Austin Chronicle Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [20]
The A.V. Club A [21]
NME 8/10 [22]
Pitchfork 9.1/10 [13]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [23]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [24]
Spin 7/10 [25]
Tiny Mix Tapes 4.5/5 [26]

Dusk at Cubist Castle was released on August 6, 1996, by Flydaddy Records. [10] [27] Early CD pressings included a second album titled Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences . [28] This album contains nine ambient songs, and in the liner notes it is suggested to play the two albums in synchronicity, as this would create quadraphonic sound. [11] [lower-alpha 2] The songs "The Opera House" and "Jumping Fences" were released as singles. [28] To promote the album, the Olivia Tremor Control served as an opener for Beck, and toured with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci in 1998. [29] Keyboardist Peter Erchick was brought on as the fifth band member while on tour. [30]

In a contemporary review of Dusk at Cubist Castle for NME , Tom Cox called the Olivia Tremor Control "experts at combining the absurd with the uplifting." [22] Alternative Press praised the band's "perfect hooks and strong, melodic singing", [19] while Jason Cohen of The Austin Chronicle remarked that, with the exception of the "random bursts and transient noise" of "Green Typewriters", Dusk at Cubist Castle is "an embarrassment of pop riches, a mildly psychedelic, lavishly melodic quasi-masterpiece." [20] Spin reviewer Chuck Stephens gave qualified praise, crediting the group for avoiding "parodic excess or overproduced pabulum" but much preferring the album's "silly pop songs", opining that "when OTC stop shaking ... the mind candy starts to melt." [25] Q 's Johnny Black found the album largely derivative of 1960s acts such as the Beach Boys and the Beatles, though overall successful at reinterpreting their sounds "through a '90s filter". [23] The album ranked at number 37 in The Village Voice 's year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll. [31]

Writing in retrospect for Pitchfork, Paul Thompson lauded Dusk at Cubist Custle as a "stately, sumptuous, and slightly otherworldly" album "brimming with immaculate hooks and queries bound for the cosmos". [13] In 2003, it was ranked at number 39 on the website's list of the best albums of the 1990s. [32] In the 2004 Rolling Stone Album Guide , Roni Sarig stated that despite "a serious need for editing", the album stands as the Olivia Tremor Control's "most cohesive recording, revealing a band clearly capable of creating solid retro-pop songs." [24] Jason Ankeny, in his review for AllMusic, likened it to the Beatles' 1968 self-titled album in sound and "unfettered creativity", dubbing it "an incredible facsimile". [14] Tiny Mix Tapes said that while Dusk at Cubist Candle draws "unabashedly ... from obvious sources", its primary strength "lies not in inventiveness or experimentation (which is not to say it lacks any), but in its ability to strike a dear balance between the temptation of emulating the artists so highly revered, and the exigency and essential need to forge a new sound." [26]

Track listing

All songs written by The Olivia Tremor Control.

  1. "The Opera House" – 3:12
  2. "Frosted Ambassador" – 1:02
  3. "Jumping Fences" – 1:52
  4. "Define a Transparent Dream" – 2:49
  5. "No Growing (Exegesis)" – 3:00
  6. "Holiday Surprise 1, 2, 3" – 6:11
  7. "Courtyard" – 2:57
  8. "Memories of Jacqueline 1906" – 2:15
  9. "Tropical Bells" – 1:40
  10. "Can You Come Down with Us?" – 2:18
  11. "Marking Time" – 4:28
  12. "Green Typewriters" – 2:22
  13. "Green Typewriters" – 0:24
  14. "Green Typewriters" – 0:59
  15. "Green Typewriters" – 2:11
  16. "Green Typewriters" – 1:10
  17. "Green Typewriters" – 0:38
  18. "Green Typewriters" – 1:38
  19. "Green Typewriters" – 9:39
  20. "Green Typewriters" – 1:21
  21. "Green Typewriters" – 2:39
  22. "Spring Succeeds" – 2:25
  23. "Theme for a Very Delicious Grand Piano" – 0:57
  24. "I Can Smell the Leaves" – 1:50
  25. "Dusk at Cubist Castle" – 7:35
  26. "The Gravity Car" – 1:45
  27. "NYC-25" – 4:39

Personnel

Instrumentation, vocals and production by The Olivia Tremor Control:

Additional instrumentation and production by The Elephant 6 Orchestra:

Notes

  1. ↑ Doss offered a different explanation of the band name in 1998, stating: "It refers to two friends, Jacqueline and Olivia, who were separated during the California earthquake of 1906 and have been searching for each other ever since, across different dimensions of time and space." [8]
  2. ↑ Playing Dusk at Cubist Castle and Explanation II in synchronicity does not produce quadraphonic sound, as the two albums are of different lengths. [11]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Cooper 2005, pp. 9–10.
  2. ↑ Cooper 2005, p. 9.
  3. ↑ Clair 2022, Chapter 7 (Search phrase "Years earlier, listening to Pylon together on a drive out to a water park in Shreveport, Will, Jeff, and Robert decided they'd live in Athens together someday").
  4. ↑ Cooper 2005, p. 18.
  5. ↑ Clair 2022, Chapter 7 (Search phrase "Synthetic Flying Machine didn’t last very long").
  6. ↑ Clair 2022, Chapter 7 (Search phrase "Will and Bill felt like a name change was in order").
  7. ↑ Kramer n.d., p. 3.
  8. ↑ Holmes 1998, p. 03.
  9. 1 2 Clair 2022, Chapter 10 (Search phrase "Meanwhile, Bill found himself losing interest in playing with Chocolate USA").
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Clair 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Houle 2011.
  12. 1 2 3 Umile 2004.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Thompson 2011.
  14. 1 2 3 Ankeny n.d.
  15. ↑ Clair 2022, Chapter 10 (Search phrase "The full name of the album, Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle, suggests it's the score to an abandoned movie project").
  16. ↑ Scapelliti 2022.
  17. ↑ Clair 2022, Chapter 10 (Search phrase " It's supposed to be dream music for your mind").
  18. ↑ Vaziri 1997.
  19. 1 2 Anon. 1996, p. 97.
  20. 1 2 Cohen 1996.
  21. ↑ LeMay 2011.
  22. 1 2 Cox 1996, p. 50.
  23. 1 2 Black 1996, p. 140.
  24. 1 2 Sarig 2004, p. 603.
  25. 1 2 Stephens 1996, p. 155.
  26. 1 2 Gretel n.d.
  27. ↑ Anon. 2021.
  28. 1 2 Anon. n.d.
  29. ↑ Buckley 2003, p. 749.
  30. ↑ Clair 2022, Chapter 14 (Search phrase "But that fall, not long after Dusk was released, the band needed a keyboard player").
  31. ↑ Anon. 1997.
  32. ↑ Anon. 2003.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant 6</span> American musical collective

The Elephant 6 Recording Company is a loosely defined musical collective from the United States. Notable bands associated with the collective include The Apples in Stereo, Beulah, Circulatory System, Elf Power, The Minders, Neutral Milk Hotel, of Montreal, and The Olivia Tremor Control. Although bands in Elephant 6 explore many different genres, they have a shared interest in psychedelic pop of the 1960s, with particular influence from bands such as the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Zombies. Their music sometimes features intentionally low fidelity production and experimental recording techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neutral Milk Hotel</span> American indie rock band

Neutral Milk Hotel were an American band formed in 1989 by musician Jeff Mangum in Ruston, Louisiana. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psychedelic folk. Mangum wrote surreal and opaque lyrics that covered a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, nostalgia, sex, and loneliness. He and the other band members played a variety of instruments, including non-traditional instruments like the singing saw and uilleann pipes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Mangum</span> Neofolk musician from the United States

Jeffrey Nye Mangum is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. Mangum is characterized for his complex, lyrically dense songwriting, exemplified on the critically lauded album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, as well as for his public image as a recluse associated with his extended periods of musical inactivity and minimal press interaction. An article published in Slate described Mangum as the "Salinger of Indie Rock." In 2023 Jeff Mangum received a Grammy award nomination for "Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package".

<i>In the Aeroplane Over the Sea</i> 1998 studio album by Neutral Milk Hotel

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the second and final studio album by the American band Neutral Milk Hotel, released on February 10, 1998, by Merge Records. The album is predominantly indie rock and psychedelic folk and is characterized by an intentionally low-quality sound. Traditional indie rock instruments like the guitar and drums are paired with less conventional instruments like the singing saw and uilleann pipes. The lyrics are surrealistic and opaque, exploring themes that range from nostalgia to love. An important influence for the album was The Diary of a Young Girl, a book of writings from the diary of Anne Frank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Apples in Stereo</span> American pop/rock band

The Apples in Stereo are an American indie rock band associated with Elephant 6 Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, of Montreal, and Circulatory System. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist/producer Robert Schneider, who writes the majority of the band's music and lyrics. Currently, The Apples in Stereo also includes longstanding members John Hill and Eric Allen (bass), as well as more recent members John Dufilho (drums), John Ferguson (keyboards), and Ben Phelan (keyboards/guitar/trumpet).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Olivia Tremor Control</span> American rock band

The Olivia Tremor Control is an American psychedelic band from Athens, Georgia. The band's main line-up consists of Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, Eric Harris, John Fernandes, and Peter Erchick. The Olivia Tremor Control's music combines indie rock and neo-psychedelia, taking influence from psychedelic pop bands of the 1960s, such as the Beach Boys and the Beatles.

<i>On Avery Island</i> 1996 studio album by Neutral Milk Hotel

On Avery Island is the debut studio album by American rock band Neutral Milk Hotel, released on March 26, 1996, by Merge Records. At the time, Neutral Milk Hotel was a solo project of American musician Jeff Mangum, who recorded the album with producer Robert Schneider from February to May 1995. On Avery Island is an indie rock and psychedelic folk album, with a lo-fi sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Cullen Hart</span> American musician (born 1971)

William Cullen Hart is an American pop musician. He was a co-founder of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, as well as the rock band The Olivia Tremor Control. Following that band's breakup, Hart and several other former members regrouped to create Circulatory System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Schneider</span> American musician

Robert Peter Schneider is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk Hotel, the Olivia Tremor Control and a number of other psychedelic and indie rock bands. Schneider co-founded The Elephant 6 Recording Company in 1992. He received a PhD in mathematics from Emory University in 2018. As of September 2022, he is an Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Michigan Technological University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Doss</span> American musician (1968–2012)

Bill Doss was an American rock musician. He co-founded The Elephant 6 Recording Company in Athens, Georgia and was a key member of The Olivia Tremor Control. Following the band's breakup, he led The Sunshine Fix and later became a member of The Apples in Stereo. Doss was married to freelance photographer Amy Hairston Doss, whom he met while both were attending Louisiana Tech University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circulatory System (band)</span> American psychedelic rock band

Circulatory System is a psychedelic rock musical ensemble formed by musician/painter Will Cullen Hart, and featuring Derek Almstead, Suzanne Allison, Peter Erchick, John Fernandes, Charlie Johnston, and Heather McIntosh.

<i>Circulatory System</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Circulatory System

Circulatory System is the first album by the American music ensemble Circulatory System. It was released on August 28, 2001, on musician John Fernandes' Cloud Recordings label.

Black Swan Network is a musical side project of The Olivia Tremor Control. With contributions from Neutral Milk Hotel members Jeff Mangum and Julian Koster, as well as individual contributions from J. Kirk Pleasant of Calvin, Don't Jump! and fablefactory's Roxanne Martin, it was intended to be an experimental project in ambient music. After their releases, the band members became busier with their other projects, and Black Swan Network appears to be on permanent hiatus.

The Sunshine Fix was an American indie rock group that released three albums from 1993 to 2004. Their main singer and songwriter was Bill Doss, known from The Olivia Tremor Control. The name predated the Olivia Tremor Control and remained in use until Doss's 2012 death.

<i>Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One</i> 1999 studio album by the Olivia Tremor Control

Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One is the second studio album by the American indie rock band the Olivia Tremor Control, released in 1999 through Flydaddy Records. It was re-released on vinyl in November 2011 through Chunklet.

<i>Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences</i> 1998 studio album by the Olivia Tremor Control

Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences is an album by American indie rock band the Olivia Tremor Control, initially released as a bonus CD with the first few thousand copies of their 1996 debut album Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle. It consists of nine tracks of ambient sounds, recorded by The Olivia Tremor Control, and it has been claimed that the album will produce quadraphonic sound when played in synchronicity with Dusk at Cubist Castle. Explanation II was later re-released on its own by Flydaddy Records in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Fernandes (musician)</span> American multi-instrumentalist musician

John Kiran Fernandes is an American multi-instrumentalist musician.

<i>The Olivia Tremor Control / Black Swan Network</i> 1997 studio album by The Olivia Tremor Control/The Black Swan Network

The Olivia Tremor Control/The Black Swan Network is an LP released by The Olivia Tremor Control. Within some of these tracks are extracts from The Black Swan Network's dream appeal — taped audio contributions from fans of dreams they've had or would like to have. Also known as the Tour EP or Olivia Tremor Control Vs. Black Swan Network, Flydaddy labelled the record without the band's permission. The band have always called it "Color Squares.

Marking Time is an Australian television series.

<i>Smiling Pets</i> 1998 compilation album by various artists

Smiling Pets is a multi-artist tribute album consisting of experimental/alternative cover versions of Beach Boys songs from Pet Sounds (1966) and the never-finished Smile project. It was released exclusively in Japan by Sony Records in March 1998.

References

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.