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Fans of VU, the Feelies, and especially Luna may have found their
more-than-worthy successor.
The quiet, almost hushed vocals combine with a melting guitar slide a la Dean
Wareham and Tom Verlaine. It's only a matter of time before this hell of a
driving soundtrack for young urbanites churns in your head. Joshua Mills Strobe Magazine June/July 1996
What is this??!!! I fucking love it!
A must for all those Galaxy 500/Luna fans. Slow somber rhythms that glide
easily with stunningly desperate lyrics. "Breathe" is both beautiful and
weary. The lyrics conjure images of a lover who's been stabbed in the back
seven times."Why did you lead me on/why did you forget me/why did you tell
me/over and over/don't forget to breathe." An eerie subsonic guitar washes
back and forth throughout, adding a certain uniqueness to their sound. Anyone
who appreciates the brilliance of the Velvet Underground is likely to find
Super 5 Thor an amazing find. It's perfect music for the road on a long ride
to nowhere. --WH
What do you do when it's raining hard on a Sunday morning? Put a few more
logs on the fire, make some mulled wine, and put on Super 5 Thor. Taking a cue
from Spiritualized and VU, they drift gently through a musical wonderland,
not quite Valium rock, and not stoner music, but...calm. Floating on a zephyr
of easiness, nothing complicated. This is music for soothing fevers and
assuaging the winds of distress. Their album "Ford" is like a sleeping
child's face: pure innocence and grace. It conjures up memories of neon
nights, strolling along the concrete avenue, a light breeze blowing. Alone,
not caring, chin lifted to the night, a brief smile playing about the lips of
the moon. A night for white wine, legs dangling over balcony railings,
smirking at the stars. Songs that will make you recline on the couch, loosen
the buttons on your shirt and sip slowly from your coffee mug, melting into
the music, the timeless, sonorous feelings of security and comfort. Subtlety,
that's it. The subtlety of morning's light, the first gracing of the world by
cosmic rays. Super 5 Thor brushes against the sonic canvas with a glancing
stroke, gracing us with tranquility and soft beauty.
Clarendon Lavorich
I play this tape to remind myself why I got into the music business. It reassures me that the universe is in it's normal order. Super 5 Thor
delivers beauty and reflects pain in equal doses. At first I wanted to keep it all to myself, like a secret weapon, but it's just too good not to share.
The dense guitar haze that envelopes Super 5 Thor's elegantly depleted songs seems to function as part security blanket, part sinister shroud, as
evidenced by the quartet's mesmerizing debut, Ford. There are nods to fellow travelers like the Jesus & Mary Chain ("Superstar")
and Low ("Dyed Mary"), but Scott Oliver's cloudy-but-eloquent lyrics and insinuating whisper furnish a singularly effective landing pad for descents
of both the psychological and pharmaceutical variety. Far from being mere voluntary slowcore exiles, Super 5 Thor function as
guerrillas in the mist.
Super 5 Thor's debut "Ford" takes us down a foggy path of dreamy, surreal soundscapes. Undulant vocals usher us along atop whooshy, effects-laden
guitars, never hurrying the experience or the mood. Why doesn't everyone make music this lovely? |
The Space side's "Superstar" is a brilliant example of Super 5 Thor's
delicate Velvet Underground-meets-The Jesus and May Chain brand of rock.
Sparse, vibrato-tinged, and soaring guitars and drugged-out vocals that the
Reid brothers can be envious of are backed up by simple, steady drumming.
"Lonesome" is not nearly as remarkable as its Space side compatriot. On the
Echo side, more of the blissed-out haze with "Drive" not quite matching the
silent power of "Blue." Good, very good. (cmc) Grid Magazine May 1996
Pretend it's 1990. Most "floating" clubs (the kind that occur once a
month in old, condemned hotels) are devoted entirely to the music of
the Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and Rockets, and the Velvet
Underground. While a band called Galaxie 500 flails in the college
charts, Super 5 Thor has already conquered the modern-rock stations.
In heavy rotation are three superb tracks from FORD, featuring the
sinewy vocals of Scott: "Lonesome," a two-chord lullaby with a bass
line as thick as rope: "Dyed Mary," a tender ballad of post-punkers
in love, and "America's Son," the kind of song that makes weeping so
pleasureable. But it's not 1990. Bush rules the airwaves now, and
the heroin-rock slot on most stations is filled by the Cowboy Junkies
and Mazzy Star. Will Super 5 Thor get the recognition it deserves?
Only time will tell.
If you've ever driven down a deserted desert highway at twilight, feeling so
fatigued that you're numb and so exhausted that you're giddy, you know exactly
what it's like to experience Super 5 Thor's "Ford". Super 5 Thor sinks deep into
your skull and tickles the part of your brain that you're only aware of after
missing two consecutive nights of sleep. Combining spacey psychedelic guitar
chords and sluggish, murmured vocals with poppy song structures that trudge
toward that mystical point where the road meets the sky, the quartet carries
the torch of its mentors proudly, sounding surprisingly fresh and new. The
hypnotic vibrations of "Superstar", "Breath", and the aptly titled, "Tired"
are the high points of a disk that simmers contentedly on a far back burner
with no intention of ever breaking into a boil. A beautiful cohesive
collection of songs that clocks in under 40 minutes, yet seems much, much
longer. "Ford" is the perfect soundtrack for overcast days when mental
capacities have maxed out in second gear.
Tubeless Ignition EP. These four songs wear their influence tattooed all over their sleeves. We’re talking the morosely honeyed balladic vein of the Jesus & Mary Chain channeled through Lou’s "Sunday Morning" vibe. Super 5 Thor’s deliquescent bliss pop may be derivative but the execution is impeccable. And it's better to worship the Mary Chain than grunge's status woe lineage any day.
With obvious debts owed to Spiritualized (heavy and ambient) and the Jesus
And Mary Chain (soft and surf), Super 5 Thor is still original enough to make
me eagerly await a full-length. In fact, one of the four songs here is
brilliant; the elasticated slow-motion guitar/bass thrum and subtle Beach
Boysian vocal harmonies of "Lonesome" convey its title so perfectly I want to
hear it over and over again during my private moments.
Somewhat droning, airy, psychedelic, acid-drenched pop music that comes off like a breath of fresh air amidst the continuing onslaught of
"alternative bands" with no real talent or songwriting skills. After hearing this band, I can honestly recommend that you pick up just about ANYTHING
with the Echostatic/Space Baby label on it. . . .I highly recommend this CD to folks into heady, surreal pop. This is just like having a good dream . . .
Maybe BETTER, Ah . . .
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