Faster than Pet Sounds: Apples in Stereo

Velocity of Sound

Apples in Stereo

spinART Records

… Velocity of Sound

Apples in Stereo

spinART Records

The songs that get into one’s head are far too often of the unoriginal and vapid variety. Sometimes, though, they can sometimes -nms actually be both catchy and pleasing, as in the case of Apples in Stereo’s latest release Velocity of Sound.

According to the Apples in Stereo Web site, when they were in sixth grade, Apples in Stereo’s singer, songwriter and guitarist Robert Schneider and Jeff Mangum, the force behind Neutral Milk Hotel, saw a Cheap Trick concert in Ruston, La., which sealed their musical fates. Mangum and Schneider later formed the Elephant Six Music Collective during the 1990s, along with a host of other musicians. 1960s throwback techniques and bizarre experimentation often characterize this diverse cluster of musician-swapping bands.

Velocity of Sound is a departure from the Apples’ earlier, more daring work, which made greater use of effects, often giving it a syrupy, psychedelic quality. 1997’s Her Wallpaper Reverie, for example, revived concept albums with more drawn-out, far-out ballads and trippy sound collage interludes with titles like “She looks out the window.”

Simple, fuzzy riffs and Ramones-like brevity dominate Velocity of Sound. There is barely a minor note on the entire album, and it plays through in about half an hour. Apples in Stereo seem to have taken a step backward, rather than continuing to stretch pop conventions.

A few tracks on Velocity of Sound show evidence of the Apples’ older style, like “Better Days,” which features a shower of synthesizer notes near the end. The bonus track “She’s Telling Lies (Bryce’s Mix)” shows the Apples’ move toward an even less challenging song style, with the quasi-retro lyrics “She’s a little girl that works at Dairy Queen/ She’s talkin’ to the kids when they get ice cream/ She’s tellin’ lies (She’s tellin’ lies).”

Apples in Stereo have always openly professed their admiration for the Beach Boys through their recordings, which, until their latest release, have been heavy on harmonized vocals, airy orchestrated melodies and pragmatic lyrics. They also recorded a cover of “Heroes and Villains” and recorded and partially mixed Velocity of Sound and other albums at Pet Sounds studios, where the legendary late 1960s Beach Boys album of the same name was recorded. This time around, the Apples create an enjoyable album but take less from Brian Wilson though possibly encouraging a reputation as rip-offs among naysayers.