Epicurean

Album Review

Epicurean: A Soundtrack compiles highlights from the slew of singles and EPs the Orchids recorded for the legendary Sarah label between mid-1988 and late 1990, each a singularly exquisite grace note from a group that, barring a subsequent re-release and re-evaluation of their mostly out of print catalog, seems destined to suffer as perhaps the great lost pop band of their era. The title derives from the enclosed quote, "the philosophy of Epicureans taught that the highest good is temporal happiness which is to be achieved by practice of virtues," in itself as apt a description of great pop music as any ever encountered; the virtues the Orchids practice are honesty, subtlety, and beauty, all manifested in their most classic melodies and achingly heartfelt vocals. Without losing sight of their trademark jangle-pop shimmer, the band covers an enormous stretch of stylistic ground over the collection's 20 cuts, shifting effortlessly from the soulful uplift of the opening "Peaches" to the string-tempered melancholy of "Blue Light" to the pre-Manchester club-psychedelia of "Something for the Longing."