Out of the Beachwood Sparks’ fruitful family tree, steel guitar/keyboard player Farmer Dave Scher has proven to be the most prolific member. Before his solo debut on Kemado Records, he and drummer Jimi Hey birthed this outstanding 2004 album for Sub Pop under the All Night Radio moniker. The album blends a bit of Beachwood’s cosmic twang with heavy doses of sonic experimentations in layered soundscapes. “Daylight Till Dawn” opens with the psychedelic whimsy of Curt Boettcher’s ‘60s band the Millennium as harpsichord notes melt into heavily delayed guitars while Farmer Dave croons cascading harmonies into buckets of reverb. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they segue into Beck-like baroque pop on “Fall Down 7,” replete with vintage breakbeats, mariachi horns, Spanish-sung lyrics, and a bass groove that commands dancing. Still, “You’ll Be On Your Own” is enveloped in the quirky changes and catchy melodies of '90s indie rock and the breezy “Sky Bicycle” overflows with the Golden State’s good vibrations.
More By All Night Radio
- 1986
- Beachwood Sparks
- Six Finger Satellite
- Mystic Chords of Memory
- The Wake
- Frausdots
- The Icarus Line
- King Tuff