FIZZLE LIKE A FLOOD
Love / Sweeter Dreams (single) (Side 1 Records)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Almost exactly a year ago, Omaha's Fizzle Like A Flood gave us the exquisite pop album, Golden Sand & The Grandstand. With the perspective of time I'm considering calling it a masterpiece of dreamy, ethereal pop, so if you've been reading my reviews for a long time and generally agree with me on such matters, you must look into this band by going to www.fizzlelikeaflood.com and investing in that fantastic disc. While you're there, take a look at the Love / Sweeter Dreams single, which is this years output thus far. Only two songs and, oddly, no lyrics, but these are two songs that warrant repeated listenings, songs that draw you in and capture your imagination with unusual instrumentation, and lots of it. Doug Kabourek (who for all intents and purposes IS Fizzle Like A Flood) brings sounds together in layers, building one atop the other until he has an orchestra of acoustic guitars, chant-like backing vocals, hand claps, old-fashioned synth sounds, odd percussion, music boxes and many sounds that are a challenge to identify, all drifting in a nocturnal haze of reverb that makes it all the more breathtaking. This goes for both songs. "Love" is much the faster of the two, yet they feel linked by the same vibe. There's so much happening in this music and yet it never collapses on itself. Kabourek seems to be in a Brian Wilsonesque phase of discovery as a writer and producer. What comes next should be very interesting indeed.

© 2002 - DJ Johnson