(1999) - Prerelease
to In the Russet Gold of this Vain Hour. Boy with the Aluminum
Stilts includes two b-sides, "Lotus Leaves" and a cover
of the Cocteau Twins'"Garlands." Only 1000 copies in
print.
REVIEWS
"...their
three song EP Boy With the Aluminum Stilts affirms that their
upcoming album, In the Russet Gold of This Vain Hour, will be
as lovely as its name. Lush instrumentation, abstruse lyrics,
and delicately puissant
vocals...Intelligent, seductive, a little bit cruel.”
SAN FRANCISCO WEEKLY
Naturally,
as the producer I was always worried about this EP, but for all
the wrong reasons.....cos as an Englishman we have always used
& spelled the word ALUMINUM,'alumin-ium'. And once Matthew
had recorded the vocals so beautifully, it felt a bit cruel to
patronisingly point out that he was missing the crucial vowel
'i'. I silently conceded that this must have been another quirk
of your curious cultural cross-fertilization of the English language.
Ha! The Autumns are really the most ridiculously talented band,
an absolute dream to work with, and I am secretly very envious
that they are beginning this journey now, toward a glorious future.
After playing a couple of shows together, I had rediscovered the
joys of performing live, and now back home, am missing that unique
bond that being part of a group allows. As for the EP, the Garlands
recording was a real blast, a totally live recording in Cotati,
SF, and mixed in a similar style at September Sound.
Simon Raymonde [Producer]
"The
Autumns have found a way to be passionate without angst and atmospheric
without over-emphasis on distortion...The three tracks are expansive
in vision and sound, clearly transmitting the emotion of the pieces,
even if the diction isn't always clear enough to convey the lyrics
without careful inspection."
THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH
Three more songs of sonic dream-pop bliss from this L.A. band
that sounds more British than most of the imports you'll find
in your local record store. It sounds like a lot of work was put
into these brilliantly
constructed songs, especially "Boy With the Aluminum Stilts,"
which, to me, the novice dream-pop listener, sounds an awful lot
like the Cure. The Autumns also count the Cocteau Twins as an
influence (explaining the radiant cover of the Cocteau's "Garlands")
and the Cocteau's bassist Simon Raymonde produced the three songs
on this EP. When I saw this band perform an amazing live show
last year, they reminded me of what I like about Catherine Wheel
- purely passionate dream-pop with a slight edge. Hunt this one
down and keep an eye out for the full length, "In the Russet
Gold of This Vain Hour," due in stores in early 2000.
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