Ahead of PSYCHIC BABBLE’S full length album due out later this month. Colin Frangicetto, is giving away an EP entitled, “My Own Stupid Mouth” over at:
psychicbabble.blogspot.com
The lush album opener, “Five Fold Kiss (Don’t Sleep),” can be downloaded for free here:
FIVE FOLD KISS ( Don’t Sleep ) by psychic babble
The culmination of nearly five years of writing, recording and sculpting his unique sonic signature, Psychic Babble’s debut full-length album, My Brother’s Ears/My Sister’s Eyes, will be released digitally and on vinyl on August 16 via Yenta Records. The musical alias of Philadelphia-based multi-instrumental Colin Frangicetto, Psychic Babble has created a strikingly confident album that is an ode to his love of melody, reverb, harmonies, classic songwriting and experimentation.
The lush album opener, “Five Fold Kiss (Don’t Sleep),” can be downloaded for free here: http://soundcloud.com/psychic-babble/five-fold-kiss-dont-sleep-1
Two non-album tracks, covers of the Mazzy Star classic “Fade Into You” and Slowdive’s “Allison,” are also available for free download on the Facebook page.
A rich tapestry of layered, swirling guitars, soaring vocals, sunny harmonies, punchy percussion, glitchy electronics and cryptic spoken word interlude (provided by CPHarrik), My Brother’s Ears/My Sister’s Eyes is a huge sounding record that belies its modest means and creation, sounding more like the product of a full band than the mostly solo endeavor it was. Recorded in multiple apartments, vans, hotel rooms, tour buses and anywhere he had a quiet moment over the last several years, the self-produced album is an accomplished piece of work dedicated to sonic playfulness, texture and melody that exhibits Frangicetto performing nearly every instrument heard on the 10 tracks, from guitar and bass to drums and keyboards, in addition to the vocals. Several tracks feature back up harmonies from his friends and his brother and sister, who he named the record in honor of, make an appearance. His brother Chris plays bass on the hazy, sun-drenched album stand out “Let Me Change,” while his sister Alison contributes back up vocals on “Radio Songs.” As for the title, Frangicetto explains: “The title is a reference to how when I listen to my music through my brother’s ears, or basically what I imagine it to be like, I don’t have any of the negative feelings about it that I normally would have, and looking at the world through the eyes of my sister makes me feel romantic and young like everything in the world matters just a little bit more.”
Inspired by everything from the Beach Boys and Peter Gabriel to Ride and Radiohead, the album is an expansive listen that distills a variety of influences into a heady concoction ranging from lo-fi bedroom confessionals to dream-pop sometime in the same song, as evidenced in the alluring album opener, “Five Fold Kiss (Don’t Sleep).” The track begins with echoey keyboards, hushed vocals and a drum machine before building into a lush symphony of guitars that wash over you while the chorus envelops you in a warmth of sound. “Nothing Familiar” combines a hypnotic, snakey guitar line with Phil Spector-esque drums and stabbing rhythm guitar to create one of the many highlights of the album. As is the case with many of the songs on the LP, the track only gets better with repeated listens as closer listening reveals just how much is going on as the sonic intricacies rise to the surface. Frangicetto’s endearing love song to his wife, “Samantha,” continues his fondness for booming drums, pairing them with the Beach Boys-like harmonies that pervade many of the 10 tracks, while “Harper” brings the album to an end as layers of snyths, tambourine, thundering guitar and beautifully emotive vocals coalesce into a stirring conclusion.
Psychic Babble: My Brother’s Ears/My Sister’s Eyes
(Yenta Records)
Street Date: August 16th 2011.
1. Five Fold Kiss (Don’t Sleep)
2. Nothing Familiar
3. Samantha
4. Radio Songs
5. You Said It
6. Crocodile Tears
7. Boulevard
8. Let Me Change
9. Follow Your Bliss
10. Harper
