Dusk At Cubist Castle

Armed with a knack for hooky pop, plenty of psychedelic weirdness, and every instrument under the sun, Olivia Tremor Control burst into the collective pop consciousness with DUSK AT CUBIST CASTLE. Whether or not the claim that the album is the "soundtrack to an unrealised film" is literally true, this dizzying collection of songs certainly conjures up images of some great, lost, trippy '60s flick. With this album's 1996 arrival, the Elephant 6 revolution was fully under way. The indie-pop collective that also included Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples in Stereo, and others, would make the indie-rock world safe for '60s-influenced psych-pop, and CUBIST CASTLE is one of that movement's flagship releases.
While close vocal harmonies, quirky guitar and piano riffs, and perky rhythms abound; it's OTC's ability to incorporate unconventional sounds and atmospheres into their work that sets them apart from most of their peers. Highly textured, ambient soundscapes intermingle freely with the band's joyously left-field pop tunes, each enhancing the impact of the other. In fact, the first pressing of the album included a bonus disc of ambient instrumentals in the vein of the group's subsequent side project the Black Swan Network.|