REVIEW: Flying Saucer Attack, Mirror (Drag City)
- Kerwin So
So we got through this Y2K thing with barely a scratch, more or less, and let's face it - the year 2000 pretty much feels like 1999 warmed over. Does the new millenium really mean anything? Space-rock outfit Flying Saucer Attack seems to think it does, and they've announced its onset with their latest offering on Drag City.
Appropriately titled Mirror, this disc manages to reflect both sides of the millennial chasm, incorporating the atmosphere of the countryside with the sound of hyper-modern urbania. Somehow, core FSA member David Pearce has managed to merge pastoral acoustic guitars, electric feedback drone, and jungle beats into a beautifully somnambulent, psychedelic creation. Consequently, you don't listen to this record so much as let it seep into your pores.
There are some definite lines drawn here: the second song, "Suncatcher," clearly extracts influence from troubador Nick Drake, with its plaintive plucking and dream-like whispers, and the commencement of the album's "technological" second half is unmistakably launched with "Wintersong's" drum'n'bass groove anchoring FSA's trademark gauzy feedback. The connecting threads through all these seemingly divergent tracks are Pearce's hypnotically tranquil vocals, and a pervading sense of quiet. It might be fair to label Mirror as subliminal trip-hop - indeed, not too long ago Pearce moved from the English countryside to the more urban environment of Bristol, home of such artists as Massive Attack and Portishead. The effect of both rural and urban environments shines clearly throughout this record, suggesting a potential future in which a cohesive humanity can reconcile the introspection and simplicity of the countryside with the technology and progress of modern life.
For now, though, put this record on, take a deep breath, and listen with the lights off. And see where it takes you.
