Daring, Poppy, And Wonderful
Sierra Wilson | Rhode Island | 04/18/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"No one experimented with found-sounds better than the Olivia Tremor Control, and Hart and Doss and co. turn "Black Foliage" into a 75-minute rollercoaster of droning ambience, clunking instrumentation, and top-shelf melody and harmony. If one were to simply cull the great pop songs from "Black Foliage" ("California Demise 3," "I Have Been Floated," "Hideaway"), you would have a pop album better than almost anything released during the 90s--yet when these gems are sandwiched between spacey interludes, far out experiments, they become something even more special, like shimmering golden threats within a beautiful tapestry. The OTC wrote better melodies, took more risks, and made better albums than almost anyone since. Forget Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" or Radiohead's "Kid A"--this album beats both of those subsequent two on their own terms, blending stellar songwriting with abstract ambition, yet never devolving into cliches or boring exercises. Buy."