| Smoke Machine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Label | Bar/None Records | |||
| Chocolate USA chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Smoke Machine is the second and final album by Chocolate USA. [2] It was released in 1994 on Bar/None Records. [3] [4]
The band, always more a project of Julian Koster, broke up after the release of the album. Smoke Machine contains some of Bill Doss's earliest recorded performances. [5]
AllMusic wrote: "While every melody and song is catchy as hell, and although Kostner's vocals are tender, this is pop music at its most exploratory without aspiring to (yet not sacrificing) accessibility. The whole of it is unselfconscious brilliance." [1] Trouser Press also praised it, and wrote that it "retains the determinedly unpretentious vibe of the first album, but the songwriting and arrangements are surer and more fully realized." [2]
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.
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 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.
Jeff 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."
Body Language is the ninth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 10 November 2003 by Parlophone. Following the commercial success of her eighth studio album Fever (2001), Minogue enlisted a diverse group of writers and producers to aid in creating a new album, including Cathy Dennis, Dan Carey, Emiliana Torrini, Johnny Douglas, and Kurtis Mantronik among others. Influenced by the musical works of the 1980s and artists like Prince and Scritti Politti, Body Language musically differs from Minogue's previous albums, which mainly featured disco-oriented dance-pop tracks, and instead explores genres like synth-pop, electroclash, R&B, and hip hop. Lyrically, the album touches upon themes of enjoyment, flirting, and sex.
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.
Ozma is the second studio album by the Melvins, released in 1989 through Boner Records. It is the first Melvins album to feature Lori Black on bass guitar and was recorded when the band relocated to San Francisco.
The Mollusk is the sixth studio album by American rock band Ween, released by Elektra Records on June 24, 1997. It is a multi-genre concept album with a dark nautical theme, with most songs incorporating elements from psychedelia and/or sea shanties, while also featuring a heavy progressive rock influence. Dean Ween described the album as "the only record that I ever felt really confident about" and "my favorite record we've ever done." Gene Ween has echoed this sentiment, saying: "The Mollusk is probably my favorite, at the end of the day."
Bill is the debut studio album American rock band Tripping Daisy. It was released in 1992 on the Dragon Street label, and then re-released on July 20, 1993 on the Island Red Label. On the re-release, the track "Green Tambourine" was removed, and the two unlisted tracks were appended to the final track.
Julian Koster is an American multidisciplinary artist. As a musician, he is a member of the Elephant 6 Collective, the leader of The Music Tapes, and a member of Neutral Milk Hotel. He is known for writing, directing, and acting in audio fiction The Orbiting Human Circus , and for performing with the theatrical troupe of the same name. He is also known for his heavy use of the musical saw in recordings, even releasing The Singing Saw at Christmastime, his only solo album released under his own name, in 2008.
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.
The Music Tapes is an experimental pop music and performance art project of Elephant 6 member Julian Koster. The Music Tapes is characterized by unusual orchestrations, the use of musique concrète and narrative storytelling, vintage home-recording practices, and musical inventions. They are also known for their unique live performances, such as the Caroling and Lullaby tours that bring them into the homes of fans, and theatrical shows like The Traveling Imaginary, which takes place in a circus tent.
Chocolate Factory is the fifth studio album by American recording artist R. Kelly, released on February 18, 2003, by Jive Records. Recording sessions took place mainly at Rockland Studios and Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois, and the album was primarily written, arranged, and produced by R. Kelly. Originally titled Loveland, Chocolate Factory was conceived by Kelly amid controversy over his sex scandal at the time.
Odditorium or Warlords of Mars is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Dandy Warhols. It was recorded from April 2004 to January 2005 in the band's own Odditorium studio, and was released on September 13, 2005, through Capitol Records; their final album before parting ways with the label.
Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle is the debut studio album by 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, in particular dreams
Chocolate USA was an American indie rock band from Tampa Bay, Florida, formed in 1989 as Miss America. The band featured Julian Koster who went on to form The Music Tapes and join Neutral Milk Hotel.
All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today is the debut full-length album by the American band Chocolate USA. Released in 1992, it was their first album for Bar/None Records. It was recorded under the band's former name, Miss America.
Force the Hand of Chance is the debut studio album by English experimental group Psychic TV, released in 1982 by record label Some Bizzare. The first 5,000 pressings came with a bonus album, Themes.
Debi Doss is an American-born photographer and singer.
Metallic B.O. is a compilation album by American band the Long Ryders, released in 1989. It was assembled after the Long Ryders disbanded in 1987 by their fan club as an authorized C90 audio cassette release. It contains previously unreleased live recordings and studio outtakes, interspersed with snippets of radio dialogue and music between the actual tracks. The 90 minute tape was subsequently edited down to 75 minutes for CD reissue by Overground Records in 1990, and later by Prima Records in 2000.
No Saint is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Lauren Jenkins. Big Machine Records released it on March 15, 2019. Before she was signed to the aforementioned label, Jenkins performed at various establishments. Her producer sent demos he had worked on with her to several labels and she signed with Big Machine. An Americana, country, pop, and rock album, No Saint focuses on themes of drinking alcohol, romance, and self-doubt. She co-wrote all of the album's songs and co-produced six of them. Music critics commented on Jenkins's vocal delivery.
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