So it’s that time of the year, Festivus, the sweet sweet holiday of poles, feats of strength, and most importantly the airing of grievances. Such as my case, the airings will be for opinions, and to be frank, I’ve got a lot of opinions about this album, and now you folks are going to read about it.
I went for a walk in my hometown when I first listened to this album; the sky was grey, it was cold, and the rain was essentially just a mist. With Modern Meta Physic, Peel Dream Magazine (Slumberland Records) have created an album so perfect for this type of environment that if I was less aware, I’d believe the whole of this experience was a dream. The album floats by like a psilocybin tinged suburban experience with soft cantations lulling you into meditative memories of your life; seeing fog, long car-drives, that moment in hangovers when your head stops hurting for one second and you feel like you’ve just met God. Those floating feelings between more tangible memories that thread your life together.
As I walked by my old elementary school, which at this point was just a pile of demolished rubble, “Shenandoah” began and it felt like I was walking to school again, perfectly placed marimba hits reigniting old dopamine. The instrumentation is so very well arranged and balanced. Steven’s vocals, which are somewhere between a smoother Calvin Johnson and Ira Kaplan, help to pace this song, and every other song, so sublimely. “Art Today” is the structural bedrock of this album; driving background dissonance, soft vocals, pulsing organs, definitely hitting on some Painful-era Yo La Tengo vibes.
The latter half of the album gets slightly more experimental and varied in structure but still manages to ride that vibe of composed chillness. “Due To Advances in Modern Tourism” and “Don’t Pick Up Slackers” are my two personal favorites on the back half. Overall Peel Dream have created a very inspired and interesting album that I am very excited to come back to a few years from now and see what mundane, precious memories bubble to the surface in my brain. Thanks Modern Meta Physic for being the key to my time capsule.
Favorite Tracks: Art Today, Shenandoah, Due To Advances in Modern Tourism, Don’t Pick Up Slackers
RIYL: Yo La Tengo/ Going on a walk and seeing your old elementary school in rubble bits, demolished.
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Written by Ira Mason