Philadelphia's Photon Band stand with each foot firmly planted in two camps of revivalism. Their catalog is exceedingly effects-laden, perhaps too experimental for pop purists, but much too tuneful for diehard psychedelic torch-bearers. Still, their method of creating lo-fi, Nuggets rock has just the right amount of each attribute to keep it convincingly fresh, a trend that continues on their latest full-length, It's a Lonely Planet.
Like their last two albums, and countless singles, It's a Lonely Planet is full of lazy slide guitar, backwards hi-hats, shimmering hooks, and plenty of quarter-inch tape hiss. Frontman Art Difuria (ex-Lilys) strains breathily from the bottom of a shallow well; the music sounds as though someone slipped powdered glass into a wad of Elephant 6 bubble-gum. Anyone looking for the revved up intensity of Oh, The Sweet, Sweet Changes or the crunch of "747 (Don't Worry)" might be disappointed: It's A Lonely Planet floats out of the speakers, much more conducive to a late night come-down than a cross country drive. Most songs are retiring ballads, the kind pulled out at the end of the night to send fans out the door in each other's arms. This isn't necessarily a bad thing-- the music is compelling enough to pull it off without getting boring-- but those initially drawn to The Photon Band for their propulsive Who sound are in for a sobering change of pace.
The album begins with a collage of cut-up little girl laughter, before launching into the title track, which includes rockist poetry like, "I was talking to Jesus/ He had a lot to say/ I was talking to T. Rex, too/ And he made me feel O.K." It's a Lonely Planet only hits its stride halfway through: "Paper Plane" suggests what Guided By Voices might sound like if Bob Pollard were obsessed with Sell Out instead of the arena anthems on Who's Next, while the acoustic stroll of "If It's A Beautiful Day" is enough to make McCartney's first solo album jealous. "Closer" lifts the The Zodiacs' "Stay", but thankfully, the Photon Band ditch the grating falsetto delivery Jackson Browne employed on his version, setting the melody in a dime-store My Bloody Valentine landscape, whirling with tremolo and multiple backwards tracks of guitar.
Overall, The Photon Band don't seem the least bit embarrassed about copying the sound of a bygone era, and as the end result is first-rate, I hope they don't second-guess themselves anytime soon. Without schtick or tired irony, they survey the 70s ballad format that's been in vogue over the past year, infusing a variety of moves from their previously disparate shoegaze past to create a fine bridge, between their more raucous early efforts and a possibly mellow, golden future.
