Big California
On the heels of "World That Wasn't" Raygun Ballet returns from the world of tomorrow and charts a course for the land of dreamers.
Guided by luminaries both great and small, Raygun Ballet's Big California is an American walkabout; a groovy and ethereal pilgrimage through a land of giant donuts, muffler men and magic kingdoms. And in the shadows of old Route 66 gas stations and the faded glory of shuttered Salton Sea motels, Big California still finds gold in the Golden State.
While words like "epic" are cliché these days, there is something decidedly cerebral and refreshing about the album mix; something that moves your head as well as your feet. Restrained guitars fit snugly in a warm bed of organ swells, string pads and percolating sequencers. The minimalistic leads build to crashing power chords and soaring cinematic crescendos. Rhythmic pulsing bass lines keep it all grounded and grooving. So, while the word "epic" might be overused, "Big California" is certainly a big album for a big land.
World That Wasn't
Forge into a future created in the past with World That Wasn't
World That Wasn't explores the World Of Tomorrow pulled from the fading print of comic books and cereal boxes. A world ruled by benevolent scientists while jetpack-wearing school children soared across their neighborhood skies.
Combining vintage synthesizers, toys, glitchy beats and infectious riffs, World That Wasn't shares sonic roots with the likes of BT's This Binary Universe, Lemon Jelly, Mrs. Jynx and Carbon Based Lifeforms. But the album's graceful arc from wry satire to transcendence carries the listener on a more personal voyage through, and then above, a collapsing consumer culture.
By repurposing moments from vintage movies, television and radio that recall our naive wonder, World That Wasn't charts a hopeful course through dystopia to final escape from a collapsing consumer culture.
Remixes
Fellow indie recording artist Sun Rust (aka Andrew Weiler) brings his decidedly analog approach to this remix of A Prayer for Mercy from our World That Wasn't album. By chopping and looping the original stems, adding a new bassline, and inverting the background and foreground elements, Weiler manages to create a supremely laid back mix that is simultaneously haunting, groovy and uplifting.
