[.ca] Her Wallpaper Reverie

From Amazon.com:
The great thing about being part of a musical collective is that not only can you draw from the work of your peers for inspiration, you can rely on your peers themselves. As part of Elephant 6, the Apples in Stereo are involved in a symbiotic relationship with such like-minded bands as Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel. For example, Apples frontman Robert Schneider produced a previous OTC album and OTC controller William Cullen Hart designed the artwork for the Apples' new record, Her Wallpaper Reverie. So it's no surprise that Wallpaper sounds like a more cohesive sequel to OTC's mind-bending Black Foliage. What is surprising is just how vast an improvement it is over the Apples' last sugary pop disc, Tone Soul Evolution. A psychedelic excursion threaded together with chiming, repetitive interludes, the album blends the styles of Revolver-era Beatles with those of Smile-era Beach Boys, resulting in a shimmering pop cocktail that's both crafty and infectious. Only two flaws: the interludes become a tad annoying and the album is only 27 minutes long, leaving the listener begging for more. Fortunately, most CDs have a repeat-play button. --Jon Wiederhorn

Too much noodling, not enough songcraft:
Her Wallpaper Reverie is simultaneously one of the best and worst CDs I've listened to in a long time. How can it be both at once, you're asking? Well, it's rather like this... On one hand, you have the Apples' trademark ability to synthesize 60s pop down to absolutely brilliant and tasty pop nuggets. "The Shiney Sea" floats by like a lone cloud on a sunny day, "Ruby" almost effortlessly manages to sound both like early Beatles and create a song as catchy as anything the Beatles did in their early days, and there's, of course, the brilliant "Strawberryfire," which almost manages to outdo Lennon's psychadelic sound experiments like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." However, with every brilliant song such as this, there is the horrendous filler. I rather like psychadelia, but the stopgap tracks between songs are pure directionless noodling. None of them start anywhere and most of them end nowhere, leaving you to scratch your head. And that says nothing about the concept of this CD either. Who in their right mind would actually RECORD a CD about what happens when you take a few too many bonghits and stare at the wallpaper for a while? If The Apples in Stereo had managed to cut the terrible filler tracks, we'd have a lovely 7 song EP as opposed to the bloated 15 track one they released instead. As such, you're going to have to take the good with the bad on this one if you're going to buy it. Otherwise, check out some of the Apples' other CDs first.

This is a good album.:
This is the first album I got of theirs. I bought it a few days ago. I must admit the first time I heard it (which was on headphones), The musical interludes after almost every track gave me a headache. The interludes are good, with the exception of Drifting Patterns (It shouldn't be over a minute long, let alone two). But with every listen, it gets better and better. Even though I've only had it 9/23/03 and today is 9/27/03, It ranks as one of my favorites. Benefits of Lying (With Your Friend) and Questions & Answers are my favorites, but every track has its own special quality. I must note that if you plan to listen to the whole album (musical interludes and all) and get the whole experience, listen to it aloud. But if you want to get a quick fix on headphones, just listen to tracks 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14. This album is near perfect.

My First, Their Best:
This was my first Apples in Stereo, and I still like it the best, even though I now have them all. It has all the wonderful trademarks: innocent, upbeat vocals; wonderful melodies; groundbreaking use of funny instruments (LOTS of toy piano); surprising lyrics; humor; variety. Even better, it's a Concept Album. Plus it takes on some social issues (like people who believe what they read in the Enquirer; end-of-the-world junkies). It's great: Neo-Psychedelia at its best.

Is a CD worth it for 3 Good songs?:
Hey, I just wanted to say that when I first heard this disc, Someone played me 3 of the songs on it. I thought it was wonderful, full of wonderful effects and recording tricks. Beautiful voices and great tone. The melody really soaked right in too. But when I got home and listened to it on Headphones, it gave me a headache because of all that Horrible soundscaping like "The APples inStereo Theme". I can not stand "trippy" stuff like that. I wish they wouldnt' have tried to make a concept EP because they were on the right track to hooking a good fan, but I just listen to the 3. Worth it for 5 bucks.

Brilliant Pop Gem:
This ep is lovely and quaint, fitting perfectly in my cd collection. I'm usually not a big fan of experimental interludes, but on this cd, they're short enough to maintain your interest. The first real track on here is the shiney sea, a spacey, psychotomimetic blast from the past. Very pyschadelic, very cool. Strawberryfire (so good) is the next full song. It's another 60s, beatlesque song with charming harmonies and blissful insouciance. Ruby is the next whole track. More jaunty pop fun. Next up are my two favorites on this disc, Questions & Answers, and Y2K. Both are superb tracks. Questions and Answers is another upbeat track that's extremely catchy and Y2K is a facetious mockery backed up by awesome music. Benefits of Lying and Ruby are the last two real tracks on the cd. These two are slower and more subdued than the other songs, but they're just as good. This ep is amazing, I recommend it to everybody.

• Her Room Is a Rainy Garden (Wallpaper Reverie Theme)
• Morning Breaks (And Roosters Complain)
• Shiney Sea
• Significance of a Floral Print
• Strawberryfire
• From Outside, in Floats a Music Box
• Ruby
• She Looks Through Empty Windows
• Questions and Answers
• Drifting Patterns
• Y2K
• Amants
• Benefits of Lying (With Your Friend)
• Ruby, Tell Me
• Together They Dream into the Evening