Natural Selections

Brad Laner – Natural Selection (Hometapes)

Tightly produced Beach Boys influenced experimental avant pop. Massive drums, massively overdubbed vocals. Arrangements that sparkle and crack in jarring sudden shifts. The quirky pop experimentalism merits a mentioning of the Flaming Lips. Sometimes funky, sometimes quirky, sometimes hooky, but always worth a listen. FCC on 3. Picks: 4, 1, 11, 6 -Doublestuf
1. Ominous acoustic guitar that suddenly shifts to a major key vocal choir. The spooky to happy juxtapositions will make you feel like a ghost in the sunlight. 3:38
2. Definitely feels like a cloudier version of the Shins’ darker songs. 4:39
3. Revolves around the line: “people buy drugs in Lancaster”. One of the catchier tracks, with some beautiful happy to sad arrangements. Too bad he says “fuck” on it. 4:28
4. Extremely dancey drum kit with interjected affected samples of crowds talking. A foot stomping back water experimental folk pop tune 3:51
5. Vocal layers galore with a lazy happy melody repeated throughout. Psychedelic acoustic guitar jam 3:36
6. Another dancey real drum kit song like Caribou. Spacey atmospherics and distorted samples. Be warned, the last 40 seconds are a beat-less filtered space synth slow down 3:25
7. 70s electric organ psychadelic slow jam. Loose structure, creepy and beautiful 3:46
8. eastern music inspired. Orchestral samples, and plenty, plenty of funky distorted electric guitar lines. Underwater vocals 3:52
9. Laner’s little son (couldn’t be over 7) sings a little acoustic ditty 1:13
10. Vocal centric. Relaxed, unjarring, soothing. Simple percussion 3:44
11. Gorgeous dark piano, sometimes driving, sometimes melancholy, vocals with heart, a nine inch nails and flaming lips fusion. 3:53