The Ladybug Transistor’s The Albemarle Sound, an ambitious but tightly focused serving of baroque and at times lightly psychedelic pop, was released by Merge Records as the 1990s wound to a close. Having achieved classic status, it’s now receiving a 25th anniversary reissue on vinyl and compact disc from Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records in a deluxe limited edition that includes a mobile, a button set, a silkscreen print, and bonus tracks on the CD and accompanying the LP on a digital download. Bold and assured, it’s an essential addition to any comprehensive ’90s indie shelf.
It’s a common generalization that the music of indie rock’s heyday (let’s demark the late 1980s through the ’90s), if not as unembellished as the din that dominated the punk explosion of yore, is still modestly scaled, stripped down, and structurally straightforward, at least in comparison to the mainstream pop and rock sounds of the same era.
As is often the case, there’s a kernel of reality in that simplification, although plenty of exceptions did emerge to illuminate ambitiousness from across the indie scene’s wide stylistic spectrum. Arriving late in the timeframe established above, The Albemarle Sound remains a standout example, if maybe a bit undersung as part of the Elephant 6 Collective (Brooklyn wing).
The formative debut Marlborough Farms (Park ‘N Ride, 1995) and stronger, more focused follow-up Beverley Atonale (Merge, ’97) precede it, but the third time really was the charm from the group of Gary Olson (vocals, trumpet), Jeff Baron (guitar), Jennifer Baron (bass), Sasha Bell (keyboards, flute), San Fadyl (drums), and Julia Rydholm (violin).
Additional instrumentation including strings arranged by Joe McGinty fill out a sound that’s obvious reference points are Brian Wilson (in grand sweep of conception) and Burt Bacharach (classic ’60s pop at the core). But a major factor in this record’s appeal is that the songs could never be mistaken for anybody else, even as the cover design pays subtle homage to Bee Gees’ 1st.
There’s even a cover of the Brothers Gibb’s “Massachusetts” kicking off the bonus tracks that fill out this reissue. Originally released on the B-side to this album’s “Today Knows” (and also selected for Merge Records’ ten year anniversary compilation Oh, Merge), “Massachusetts” was a big clue to where The Ladybug Transistor was coming from, but their version’s slickest trick is in how it’s simultaneously faithful and non-imitative.
The Albemarle Sound’s brief opening prelude “Oriental Boulevard” offers Olson’s warm baritone in a vaguely Scott Walker-like mode, but it quickly gives way to the lively pop-psych of “Six Times,” with its snare drum rolls and regal horn section. “Meadowport Arch” maintains the energy and the disc’s geographical theme, but its strong suit is the repeated gear shifts into Olson and Bell’s vocal harmonies and gently distorted guitar.
“Today Knows” is a delightful showcase for Olson’s singing and some of the best baroque orchestration of the ’90s. But then “The Great British Spring” throws a curveball, foregoing vocals as Fadyl gives that kick drum a workout. Olson returns to the mic in a big way for the ’60s baroque pop of “Like A Summer Rain” (a Jan & Dean cover) and likewise for side two’s opening cut, the decidedly harder to tag “The Swimmer,” with its detour into apple munching and a title that suggests Frank Perry’s 1967 film starring Burt Lancaster.
Speaking of film, it’s hard to deny the Morricone vibe of “Cienfuegos,” but it’s Olson’s soaring trumpet recalling Love’s “Alone Again Or” that really puts it over the top. But in terms of cinematic similarities, The Albemarle Sound often insinuates that a collaboration with a then still budding Wes Anderson would have been productive.
This connection is especially tangible in “The Automobile Song” and in the lushness of the record’s final standout cut, “Oceans In The Hall.” Another instrumental, “Vale of Cashmere” follows, as pretty as it is unusual, teeing up closer “Alieda’s Theme,” this time with Bell on vocals. Other than “Massachusetts,” the rest of the bonus cuts are works in progress. Extras of this sort can be occasionally underwhelming, but in the case of The Albemarle Sound these versions provide significant into The Ladybug Transistor’s overall process.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
