All Night Radio "Spirit Stereo Frequency"

Last week I learned that All Night Radio had called it quits, and I was sad. Breakups are never fun, especially when it's a band you really like. There's been no real detailed reason given, other than the 'creative differences' cliche and a Buddyhead interview that hints at a reason that's quite Spinal Tap. It's kind of sad, too, because the music that Jimi Hey and Dave Scher made as All Night Radio was quite exciting. I tried to get an interview with them as well, but through some really silly and not so silly circumstances, it just didn't happen, and I wrote it off as a 'maybe next time' type of thing, Too bad.

It's even sadder, because after spending several groovy evenings with Spirit Stereo Frequency, you'll want to hear more. It's obvious that a lot of time and love working on this record; Hey and Scher came up with a lot of really good musical ideas that were pleasant for the present and promising for the future. See, Spirit Stereo Frequency glows in a way that makes it quite clear that these two men were not only having a lot of fun making music together, but that their best ideas were yet to come. all of which shimmer with the glowy haze of summer in LA and the scent of weed and cheap incense. It's also not a surprise that All Night Radio also sounds like a continuation of Beachwood Spark's final record, the spaced-out pscyh country masterpiece Make The Cowboy Robots Cry--ironically, the album marked return of longtime friend Jimi Hey. Coincidence that they got trippier with his return? Possibly.

In many ways, Spirit Stereo Frequency was very much a standard debut record. Though not every idea on Spirit Stereo Frequency works--I didn't really think the more upbeat rock of "You'll Be On Your Own" fit the overall groove of the record--for the most part their psych-pop intentions are quite well-developed, and the moments that don't really work are overshadowed by the sublime and undeniable magical charm of those that do. From the subtle album opener "Daylight Til Dawn," All Night Radio never hesitate to deliver music that's both trippy and and pleasant. The sad yet hopeful "Sad K." could have been the big baroque pop love song of 2004, but it wasn't to be. And what of the wonderful "Sky Bicycle (You've Been Ringing)?" Once a great promise, now it is only a question, a snapshot of what could have been....

So farewell, All Night Radio, we hardly knew ya. Here's to your future projects, the possibility of a reunion, and the eventual cult status of Spirit Stereo Frequency. It's something you guys deserve, even if you two decide to let your animosity and bitterness turn you into indie rock's Martin and Lewis.

--Joseph Kyle

Label Website: http://www.subpop.com