Skydive

Space Pop
by: terry sawyer

Phaser makes surprisingly British music for boys that stake their claim in the seamy cosmopolitanism of DC. This EP of foggy dream pop takes its ethereal cues from any number of bands bent on songwork made of sleepy layers of sound.

"Young As Ever" could be a post-bender U2 track, with its vocal climbs and distorted guitar solos. "Thanks for Asking" has a driving Storm in Heaven-era Verve core beneath its mumbled rocking. "Mercury" sounds like Suede, but with big, fluffy pillows padding their more rock and roll edges. All of the songs have an open horizon vibe that lends a certain largeness to the Vicodin fuzz.

Rounding out the EP, "Last Letter Home" takes a ghoul lounge slant and deeper, moodier vocals to make the EP's best track. Granted, it could stand a swift kick in the bass line and a few slaps across the tempo, but for music that sounded so generally drowned, the closer was a welcome pace change.

All in all, Phaser's Skydive EP makes for innocuous, barely stirred space pop. 14-Oct-2002 12:00 PM