Artist: The Squires of the Subterrain
Album: Sandbox
Bitrate: 186kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Rocket Racket
Genre: Indie
Size: 58.26 megs
PlayTime: 0h 41min 30sec total
Rip Date: 2012-12-05
Store Date: 2012-03-30
Track List:
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01. Idling in the Sun 3:09
02. Surfin' Indiana 2:21
03. (I Still) Mow Your Lawn 2:42
04. The Cheatin' Gibson Girl 4:12
05. Fun House 4:22
06. Woodrow Wilson 2:58
07. Carbon Footprint 3:03
08. Endless Winter 3:43
09. Lisa's Tower 2:45
10. Happy Farmers 2:58
11. Rain on Snow 3:09
12. Rising Water 2:22
13. For Five Minutes There 3:46
Release Notes:
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Imagine this: a Beach Boys pastiche thatÆs also a concept album dealing with
ecological devastation. Sandbox is that and more: itÆs a one-man-band affair by
The Squires of the Subterrain, the nom de rock of Christopher Earl. And on
Sandbox, Chris/Squires (heh) doesnÆt aim his sonic recreation/re-creation
talents solely at the concept-friendly style of SMiLE-era Beach Boys: While
thereÆs a healthy doses of virtual Wrecking Crew here, many of the sounds on
this album are those of surf-n-stock-era Beach Boys, right down to the twangy
Fender guitar licks and Mike Love-ly nasal vocals.
Clever in-jokes abound, but they never distract form the musical good times.
Chuck Berry-by-way-of-Carl Wilson guitar solo style is the order of the day on
ôSurfinÆ Indiana.ö The more expansive Pet Sounds vibe does make a brief
appearance, but leave it to EarlÆs twisted take on the 60s to wed a sensitive
melody and arrangement to a song with a bait-and-switch title: ô(I Still) Mow
Your Lawn.ö ThereÆs even something that sounds like a clavioline, or Theremin,
or electrotheremin, orà something.
Another little in-joke that bridges the gap between the carefree beach vibe with
environmental concerns is tidily summed up in the Phil Spectorian ôEndless
Winter.ö See what I mean? And clever lyrics are couched within the poppy tunes.
To wit: ôGuitar picks shaped like teardrops that I shed for you.ö On ôWoodrow
Wilsonö another sly/oblique title, Earl hops right over the late 60s, aiming his
talents at 70s style Beach Boys, complete with Moogy blobs of synth augmenting a
piano-based melody. The most rock-oriented track on Sandbox is ôCarbon
Footprint,ö which bears some sonic similarities with the Blondie Chaplin/Rikki
Fataar-era BBÆs. It too makes deft, effective use of happily-dated synth
textures. But itÆs also essentially a surf instrumental, rooting its influences
back in the 60s.
ôLisaÆs Towerö is Beach Boys twice-removed; itÆs redolent more of what Klaatu
might have sounded like if the hype suggested they were instead Brian Wilson and
his brothers and pals reunited. ôHappy Farmersö evokes SMiLEæs Van Dyke Parks
Americana lyrical obsessions, and builds a melody around a banjo figure to
hammer the point home for anyone who might have missed it.
All sorts of left-field sound effects and treated vocals make ôRising Waterö a
sort of Beach Boys-meet-öRevolution 9.ö But for the album closer, things revert
back to the lovely and conventional ôFor Five Minutes There,ö which encapsulates
much of what made the Beach Boys wonderful û ôWendyö-styled guitar, creamy vocal
harmonies, and straight-ahead percussive punctuation û while still showing off
the original talents of The Squires of the Subterrain.