Monday, 12 September 2011

Richard In Your Mind – Sun

Richard In Your Mind – Sun (2011)
Produced by Richard Cartwright

Richard Cartwright
Conrad Richters
Jordy Lane
Pat Torres
Brent Griffin

Track listing:
01. Vision (4:35)
02. Maybe When The Sun Comes Down (4:01)
03. She Took The Sun Away (2:22)
04. Mountainhead (5:01)
05. Dimension (4:15)
06. New Morning (4:27)
07. Tear Filled Ocean (3:48)
08. SUN (4:04)
09. Where Did You Go (2:35)
10. Aplomb (4:26)

Released in 2011 “Sun” is the Third album by Australian band Richard In Your Mind.  Richard in Your Mind is a Sydney band formed by Richard Cartwright and Conrad Richters.  The band has previously released two albums and two ep’s including last years “My Volcano” album.   

I purchased this album for the handsomely sum of $1 digitally as part of a weekend special through music retailer Big Pond Music.
The album begins with “Vision” a spacey tack that begins with some interesting keyboards before some programmed drums begin.  The groove is great on this track and it reminds me of a mixture of M83 and AIR.  Kind of French Synth rock mixed with German Krautrock.
 Following on is “Maybe When The Sun Comes Down” a psychedelic tune with a cool groove.  A description that came to mind for me what White Boy Folk Dub.  There is some nice layers of instrumentation and a cool backwards guitar solo.  This is a summer song for indie kids.
She Took The Sun Away” is next and is a mix of Beck with The Beatles “…And Your Bird Can Sing”.  The song has a nice 60’s feel and some nice guitar lines and vocals from Richard.
The next tune “Mountainhead” reminds me of The Flaming Lips.  Kind of a mix between “The Soft Bulletin” mellower tracks & the “In A Priest Driven Ambulance” version of the band.  It’s a nice tune but does seem to lack direction and get a little stuck in it's slow pace.
The slow dub of “Dimension” follows on.  A cool scratchy track in that has similarities with AIR’s “All I Need”.  The instrumentation is groovy but is let down by a weak vocal melody.  The movement of the song is nice and it sports a great guitar solo with horns.   
New Morning” is up next and is another slow groove similar to “Dimension” but with a stronger vocals.   A delayed Keyboard track sits nicely on this track and the chorus is cool.
The English folk tune “Tear Filled Ocean” follows on.  This is the most radical of the tracks on this album and is almost naïve and simplistic.  It has a nice vibe and instrumentation that is help by some sweet female vocals.
The title track “Sun” is the most similar to the bands previous album “My Volcano”.  After an extended intro Hip Beats and cut up instrumentation build the track.  The phaser and layers are really dense on this track and the keyboards are reminiscent of Kraftwerk.
Where Did You Go” is next with it picked guitars and a high school slow dance track.  The melody is nice though the vocals don’t do it justice.  The backing doesn’t quite give the song what it needs to really hit the mark.  Though the guitar solo is quite sublime.
The album finishes with “Aplomb”.  This track is a spacey lounge song with and almost jazz feel.  Though a jazz song that has been chopped up and reconstructed.  I like this track though it can be at times a tough listen. 

I'll be honest and say I didn’t really like this album the first time I listen to it but I’m am finding myself enjoying it more with each listen.  A little more one dimensional that pervious albums there is a lot to get from this album. 

6/10

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