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The Sunshine Fix
AGE OF THE SUN
(EMPEROR NORTON/KINDERCORE)

Stars graphics

It’s not as easy as it looks to capture the nutty naïveté and spectral insouciance of 1960s suburban psychedelia, but Bill Doss, starship commander of the Sunshine Fix, has it nailed. Age of the Sun is the first full-length disc attributed to the Sunshine Fix, but some may know Doss as a key player in the mercurial, DIY-inspired Elephant 6 Recording Company Collective that spawned Olivia Tremor Control (a band he’s also a key player in), Apples in Stereo, and other ’60s-loving popsters.

"Everything Is Waking" and "A Better Way To Be" should have been part of the saturation radio nostalgia that accompanied George Harrison’s recent passing. Both are built on the same combination of classicism and irreverence that pushed Harrison and the Beatles around a major creative corner on Revolver. Doss’s audio mélange of Wurlitzers, organs, synths, xylophones, and other exotica is given depth by the craftsmanship of tunes like "Sail Beyond the Sunset," and "Hide in the Light." Melodically meaty and only minimally derivative, the first 40 minutes of Age of the Sun are often brilliant. Only caveat is the final track, a 20-minute repeated tape loop that may appeal to some for its hypnotic quality. Mostly, though, it’s just oppressive. Think of it, in the spirit of Lou Reed, as Doss’s Mellotron Machine Music.

(The Sunshine Fix play T.T. the Bear’s Place this Saturday, February 23, with the Fly Seville and Jr. Corduroy. Call 617-492-BEAR.)

BY WAYNE ROBINS

Issue Date: February 21 - 28, 2002
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