If a record could be said to have time-warping properties, it's likely Modern Meta Physic. The debut full-length from Peel Dream Magazine, out on Friday via Slumberland Records, sounds so much like bits of Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements in spots, that a listener to this NYC-originating band's new release could be forgiven for thinking this was some lost recording from Sadier and co. Now, that said, there's loads more here that suggests a fresh spin on the sort of indie being perpetuated in these grooves. The band might have a song called "Anorak", but even anoraks can advance the form, you know?
Opener "Qi Velocity" purrs with a familiar near-Krautrock rhythm, even as the dreamy "Shenandoah" strays just this side of dream-pop, the strong hook here keeping this from flying away into the ether. Elsewhere, the droning "Deetjen's" nods in the direction of My Bloody Valentine's output right around the time of the Tremolo EP, a nice buzz looping through this, even as the excellent, previously-mentioned "Anorak" put me in mind of stuff from D.C.'s own Unrest.
Now, for all that talk of those other, earlier excellent bands, there's no way to deny how effortlessly Peel Dream Magazine pull all this off. There's a real subtlety here that other bands would have stumbled over. Where it would have been an easy move to lose themselves in feedback, Peel Dream Magazine instead ride easy hooks through the future funk of "Fires", or glide off into a woozy haze on Due To Advances In Modern Tourism", a real highlight here on Modern Meta Physic.
There's something special here on Modern Meta Physic and if, admittedly, some of these numbers sound familiar, at least Peel Dream Magazine manage to make these selections sound fresh too. A listener is likely to feel a renewed, invigorated enthusiasm for this kind of thing thanks to the tuneful offerings here.
Modern Meta Physic by Peel Dream Magazine is out Friday on Slumberland Records.
More details on Peel Dream Magazine via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Migs Govea]