White Fence released Cyclops Reap in April 2013. White Fence is actually Tim Presley, a prolific musician from California in the vein of Ty Segall and John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees. Last year he released three full length albums, Family Purfume Vol.1, Family Purfume Vol.2 and Hair which was a collaborated effort with Ty Segall (who also released three albums last year). All of Presley’s recordings have been lo-fi Psychedelic Pop bedroom recorded affairs and this album is no different. But at the same time it has something different to offer than his previous efforts. This album has a bit more clarity, but still gives off that lazy Psychedelic warmth that White Fence has been known for.
Cyclops Reap starts with “Chairs In The Dark” that begins with an offbeat organ loop, being made on a 4 track tape recorded at his home this is something that will pop up at various moments on this album. This song features luscious melodies and that lazy warmth that is found in White Fence’s catalogue, but this song exemplifies a new kind of clarity and cohesiveness that wasn’t as evident previously. “Beat” is a singer/songwriter acoustic driven Pop track, while “Pink Gorilla” is a heavy Psychedelic Garage track with dizzying drum fills, and super fuzzy guitar lines, sounding like a cross between 80s Garage and at times 60’s Pop. “Live On Genevieve” features backwards guitar, layered vocals and strange sound effects which show the extent of White Fence’s Psychedelic experimentation. This song crosses and blurs the line between The Beatles Psychedelic Sgt. Peppers era sound and Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd.
Other stand out tracks include the echoing Pop sounds of “Make Them Eat Dinner At Our Shoes”, the warbled sounds of “White Cat” which changes in an instant from a slow melodic song to a fast driving fuzzed out Garage and organ driven Rock song, and the finger picking acoustics of “Only Man Alive”. “Run By The Same” features a lo-fi George Harrison guitar sound and catchy melodies. This album is difficult to pin down because there are so many fragments that make up the album as a whole. As mentioned it does have a lazy feeling, but it makes the album sound like it is loose and together at the same time.
This album was initially intended to be a collection of the leftover songs from White Fence’s back catalogue ones that have been piling up over the last three years, but Presley quickly changed his mind. In a recent interview Presley described the album and its recording process:
“This record was initially going to be a collection of the many songs trapped between the 4 White Fence LP’s. As I was putting that together, there were more coming. a better crop. I couldn’t stop. So, instead of a retrospective I said “Fuck It”. might as well use the most current songs of the bunch. For the exception of “Make Them Dinner At Our Shoes” which is from 2009.”
As a whole, Cyclops Reap grabs a hold of the listener in a laid back effort, calmly captivating us until it attacks in a fuzzy haze during unexpected moments. Although initially intended as a retrospective of previous recordings, this album reaps the benefits of Presley’s prolific song writing abilities and lurches forward in a new direction instead of heading backwards.
This Week's Play List:
1. Deerhunter – Neon Junkyard
2. Waker Glass - Neighbourhood Party
3. Portugal The Man – Evil Friends
4. Luck of Eden – Bangalore
5. Field Assembly – Storms and Stress
6. The Reply – I Must Stop
7. Danny Rivers – I Got
8. Teenage Head - Little Sister (Live)
9. The Demics – The Least You Could Do
10. Lowlife – Leaders
11. The National – Graceless
12. New Order- Dreams Never End
13. The Nefidovs – In & Out
14. The Knockouts – Riot In Room 3C
15. MYSTICS – Three Legged Dog (Demo)
16. Ramones – No One To Blame (Demo)
17. The Clash – Safe European Home
18. Fergus & Geronimo – Roman Tick
19. Black Angels – Broken Soldier
20. White Fence – Chairs In The Dark
21. White Fence – Pink Gorilla
22. Ty Segall & White Fence – (I Cant) Get Around You
23. Ty Segall & White Fence – Scissor People
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 3. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
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