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More Athens, GA frivolity from Andy Gonzales and assorted guests from Of Montreal (principally co-conspirator on this fourth record, Derek Almstead) and Olivia Tremor Control. Over eleven tracks (plus four instrumental interludes) Gonzales' ultra-nasal delivery skips lazily over jazzy piano and guitar chords (the acoustic guitar and vocal simplicity of Guitar Suite for Little Debbie is particularly effective), telling tales of fleeting romance and life viewed through classified ads. Like Jobim playing Apples in Stereo, Jebodiah's Restraints and Oblivion force their heads through the candy-floss clouds of much of 'Ride The Lightning', more complex and considered than the band moniker and cutesy graphics might suggest.

Matt Dornan
May-June 2002

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