SUN BARROW
Sun Barrow (Priapus)
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry

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From Lawrence, Kansas, Sun Barrow specialize in spacey, semi-droney, dream-pop, accentuated by electric piano, and hypnotic rhythms. Reminding me, at times, of some lost Pink Floyd moments that wound up on the editing floor, circa Animals, Piper, or Dark Side of the Moon. Actually, not unlike Filmstar, an excellent band, who only issued two cds on a tiny label, and toured with Fastball, before dropping out of sight. My wish for Sun Barrow is that they find a lead singer, and hone the sprawling jams found on this twelve song cd into shorter songs. The elements are all there for that. Nice interplay happening between the guitar and organ. If they had somebody vocalizing, the possibilities could be infinite. Without a singer, though, this sounds a lot like something you might hear at a coffee house. Songs like "Sloan Automatic" would really benefit from the cohesion a vocalist would bring to it. There are eight unlisted bonus tracks, and I, unfortunately thought they were more interesting than the album. There’s ambient ‘noise’ connecting most of these, and it’s my question to the band…were they all recorded live in a small room? For instance, we have the ten-second Track 20, which is just…air basically. A curious listen for sure.

© 2000 - Jason Thornberry