Replica Sun Machine

The Shortwave Set

Wall of Sound

2008-05-12

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The Shortwave Set’s first LP of “Victorian funk”, The Debt Collection, was a slow burning critical success, but not enough commercial goodwill was garnered for the Depford three-piece to remain on their first label, Independiente. However, this kudos managed to gain them a deal with Wall Of Sound, a move to Hollywood to record the follow-up, Replica Sun Machine, and the patronage of three surprising individuals.  The album is produced by knob-twiddler du jour Danger Mouse and has contributions from The Velvet Underground’s John Cale and Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks, but this embarrassment of riches are not just window dressing for the profile.

Danger Mouse’s production shows his customary lightness of touch and displays his, and the band’s, love of sixties psychedelia and pop. The Shortwave Set’s first LP was largely built from samples taken from records bought from charity shops and combined with broken instruments. Marvelous stop-gap single “Casual Use” cleverly incorporated a Madness sample. But on Replica Sun Machine there is a move to just live instrumentation, and it is a smooth, seamless transition.  The two big guest’s contributions are subtle but valuable. Van Dyke Park’s swooning orchestrations on “Yesterdays To Come” recall his work on Joanna Newsom’s Ys LP, and John Cale contributes “viola, sweeps and atmospheres”. The former’s grand strokes allayed to the off-kilter dusting provided by the latter bring to mind sixties mavericks like Scott Walker or Lee Hazlewood.

A great, summery pop record.

Though most tracks recall decades past, be it the aforementioned or the melodic psychedelia of The Left Banke or The Free Design there is still a contemporary dimension.  The wistful “Harmonia”  has a Air-like chorus, whilst the wonderful “House Of Lies” has the subtle grandeur of some of the Super Furry Animals’ best moments. To counter the mellow moments of these and others like “Distant Daze” are a couple of cracking pop songs, particularly in the “be bap a loola” of “Now ‘Til 69” and “No Social”. It seems the location has informed the sound, as if California’s ubiquitous sun has transferred a hazy pastorality to Replica Sun Machine. A great, summery pop record.