Tom Gallo is the host of Look At My Records! on Radio Free Brooklyn.
Brooklyn-based experimental psych outfit Quicksilver Daydream are back with the follow-up to their fantastic 2018 EP A Thousand Shadows, A Single Flame.
While their previous releases were self-produced, the band shared co-production duties with Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, The Drums) for their sophomore full-length, Fly Oblivion, recording the record at Seaside Lounge and mixing it at Schenke’s Studio Windows.
The end result is the group’s most fruitful and expansive sounding work to date, as the songs piece together a compelling narrative that’s accompanied by an ambitious blend of folk and psychedelic influences.
On Fly Oblivion, principal songwriter Adam Lytle manages to propel listeners on a lavish, cosmic journey across a universe of surrealist imagery and sonic exploration, as the songs smoothly oscillate between dark and bright while drawing from both folk and psychedelic touchstones.
In a recent interview with Vents Magazine, Lytle described the overarching narrative on Fly Oblivion as chronicling the experience of an individual “departing earth, headed into the unknown – flying into oblivion.” True to its out of this world lyrical underpinnings, the album runs the gamut of aural experiences, from the surreal, gentle, and scaled back “Forever” to the more booming and echoing riffs on “Warmth of Other Suns.”
The band also achieves an appropriately spacey vibe across the record thanks to the use of an almost omnipresent and haunting mellotron that nicely balances some of the record’s brighter moments, such as the sun-soaked and up-tempo guitar work on “Infinite Range” and the album’s second single, “Hang On.” It’s a nice, cohesive collection of songs that strikes a perfect balance between gentle folk storytelling and the sweeping, deep sound of psychedelic rock.
You can purchase Fly Oblivion on limited edition vinyl via the group’s Bandcamp.
All images courtesy of Quicksilver Daydream.
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