*** Olivia Tremor Control

MUSIC FROM THE UNREALIZED FILM SCRIPT "DUSK AT CUBIST CASTLE"

(Flydaddy)

As the unwieldy title suggests, the first full-length release by Georgia's Olivia Tremor Control is an ambitious conceptual effort -- a 74-minute, 27-track score for an as yet unproduced (real? imaginary?) film titled Dusk at Cubist Castle. Think of it as a Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for the lo-fi, indie-rock underground. Like the Beatles, Olivia Tremor Control make the most of four-track technology (of course, in 1996 that's an aesthetic choice, whereas in 1967 it was the only real option), employing trippy "Strawberry Fields" keyboard drones, squiggly backwards guitar loops, and even some orchestral flourishes, with a delirious combination of artful precision and haphazard, amateur glee. The result, though rooted in the fuzzy, tuneful guitar-bass-drums fundamentals of hook-driven pop, is a fun-house tour of blossoming psychedelic textures and atmospheres. OTC pay enthusiastic tribute without getting bogged down in the kind of reverent Fab Four mythology that can make Beatles-inspired bands a drag. And, as a bonus of sorts, they're also a refreshing reminder that Oasis aren't nearly adventurous enough sonically to lay claim to the Beatles legacy.

-- Matt Ashare

(Olivia Tremor Control join Jeff Magnum of Neutral Milk Hotel upstairs at the Middle East this Saturday, October 19.)