Glowing lights and rays draw us in: THE CRYSTAL FURS – Pseudosweet (LP)
The Crystal Furs – ‘Pseudosweet’ are available @ Apple Music.
by Walter Price
“Hey, you put your psych in my pop!”, “No, you put your 80’s jangle in my 90’s garage!”, is an extremely fathomable conversation when it comes to the smorgasbord of ingredients The Crystal Furs utilize in their true to the definition ‘indie’ sound(s).
The trio’s latest release, ‘Pseudosweet’, covers a lot of sonic ground. Track one, the title track, texturally explores the idea of what it would have been like if The Pretenders were a post-punk Manchester outfit, while “Sharpened Words” can be imagined as Bernard Sumner went an organ-driven garage band route. As “Ten Years of Sleep”, “Dysfunctional Mythology”, and “Thinking Problem” all have their tasty roots in psych-pop.
Lyrically thoughtful, melodic and personal, the songwriters know their way around memorable phrasing. “With glowing lights and rays you draw us in /Just to find the snark and venom within” from “Pseudosweet” and “I dropped a mirror on the floor /I saw a girl I saw before /I bit my lip and looked away /But that creeping feeling’s here to stay” from “Oh My My” recall The Smiths and Bikini Kill, respectively.
The skinny, this album is a Summer-ready romp. A blast in many pasts while forging the future of to-the-core indie (of all flavors). And if you’re a fan of The Blank Tapes, Stereolab, The Go-Betweens, and/or Feral Conservatives, you’ve just found your new most favorite band…
THE CRYSTAL FURS
Steph Buchanan – guitar, bass, e-bow, lead vocals, backing vocals
Kevin Buchanan – Farfisa organ, synthesizer, electric piano, backing vocals, lead vocals
Tanner Brown – drums, percussion, baritone saxophone
Produced by The Crystal Furs
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Tanner Brown
