stars like fleas - sun lights down on the fence (praemedia)

i just listened to a really good album. i can freely say that it is very hard to come across a really good album in the whole constellation of hyper production even on the experimental scene. it is not about something so inventive, but about a relaxed album which will relax you while you listen to it. stars like fleas did not have an intention to create a revolutionary album. it is a result of the hours of accumulated sonic material received during the sessions of improvisation of this band. they were formed by the austin music - scene veteran montgomery knott (vocals) and the multi instrumentalist and producer shannon fields in the year of 1998. in the following period up to 2000 they already have enough material which will result in 'sun lights down on the fence'. in this period the list of collaborators is up to 21 musicians who come from different bands such as: papa m, mercury rev, at the drive-in, other dimensions in music, out hud, test, gold sparkle band, no neck blues band… with all this the story evidently sounds like the story of a similar band - lambchop. the similarity doesn't end here. even without knowing this story, the first thing that will make you think of lambchop is the similarity of sensibility. and when it comes to similarity of sound, the most similar would be palace or will oldham with their off key country vocals, and also gastr del sol and jim o'rourke. here somewhere are nobikazu takemura, microstoria, tom waits or deus. according to all this, their music could be described as contemporary, seducing desert country music in a deconstructed experimental context. disoriented trumpets, confusing off key vocals with romantic lyrics, sad slow bass, relaxing acoustic guitars and strings parts, subtle experimental electronica... no matter how much they sound or remind us of something, they are still just stars like fleas. particularly original in creating desert atmosphere. everything is slow, warm and relaxed… sunshine and sand.