Black Moth Super Rainbow – Eating Us (Graveface)

Check it if you don’t believe me, but Black Moth Super Rainbow‘s “Forever Heavy” (MP3) is one of my most spun tracks according to Last FM. The song, from their previous effort Dandelion Gum, is a trippy and memorable blend of old school analog synths fronted by primitive robotic vocoder.

“Born On The Day The Sun Didn’t Rise” is similar to “Forever Heavy” in the sense that it too is the lead off track to their full length—this time it’s their latest entitled Eating Us—and it’s infectiously similar to that ’07 gem.

I have a feeling that it too will become a popular track and show similar high numbers to my spin totals, particularly after this summer is over.

In fact, much of Eating Usr esembles the same acid-laden landscapes that preceded it, with one very noticeable difference: the production quality. BMSR opened for the Flaming Lips last year, and the OKC pranksters must have put in the good word to producer Dave Fridmann. He uses his trademark big drum sound, puts a lot more audible detail in the mix and might have had a hand in streamlining every song to economical time lengths. Unlike the sound stamp that he placed on the last Tapes ‘n Tapes album (review), his work with BMSR is a breath of fresh air and provides new dimensions to their sound.

All of the retro keyboards make an appearance again, and the eerie robot voice that was used somewhat sparingly in Dandelion Gum (review) is used to the fullest here. Fridmann also pushes more stringed instruments here, including a beautiful string section at the end of “Gold Splatter.”

Eating Us is a much more mainstream endeavor, with its terse running time and focus on melody, and there are certainly more than a few tracks that could garnish widespread attention. BMSR always seemed to be a band that was destined to become merely an enjoyable curio, referenced as one of those underground bands who delivered a few great songs before disappearing into the psilocybin landscape. Their latest shows that the band has bigger things in mind and that they’re not quite content with becoming an underground footnote. A lot of forethought went into the making of Eating Us; whether or not it’s the work of Dave Fridmann or the members of BMSR will be seen with future releases. But for the time being, Eating Us leaves you feeling full and very satisfied.

MP3: Black Moth Super Rainbow – “Born On The Day The Sun Didn’t Rise”