White Fence (self-titled)
LABEL: Woodsist
For fun, I played a few songs from White Fence’s self-titled debut album for some friends, and claimed they were never-before released Beatles’ tracks, just recently discovered in some underground vault. With just a little vigorous head nodding and insistence on my part, even the most skeptical among them was quickly won ever.
If that’s not a testament to how great this album is, then I don’t know what is.
Completely skipping over the genre-mashing and weakly executed throwback music that’s been so prevalent in the last few years, White Fence is the best 60’s album the 60’s never made. It’s so unrelentingly authentic, the next time a bunch of faux-hippies whip out an auto-harp onstage and claim to be the second coming of the Beach Boys, you’ll yawn so hard your face will fall off.
“Beyond that, each song feels like it emerged fully
formed from some acid dream in as much time as
it took to turn on the recorder.”
That’s not to say this album is some sort of gimmick or novelty. It’s a highly addicting mess of psychedelic garage rock and lo-fi atmospheric pop that would bring a smile to Syd Barrett’s tortured lips. There’s even brief snippets of proto-punk riffing, on songs like “Box Disease/Today Bond” and “Baxter Corner” that belay White Fence’s (a.k.a. Tim Prestley of Darker My Love) brief stint with first wave punk pioneers The Fall.
White Fence is beautifully gritty. It sounds less like it was recorded in a garage, and more like it was recorded on an 8-track on the side of a freeway, transferred to vinyl in a machine shop, and then let sit in the sun for twenty years. Beyond that, each song feels like it emerged fully formed from some acid dream in as much time as it took to turn on the recorder. There is none of that trying-too-hard feeling that usually plagues such genre-heavy efforts—it’s about as loose-limbed and organic feeling as is possible.
Music fans, 60’s-o-philes, and lovers of anything good would be well-advised to check out White Fence. It’s early in the year, but I’ve already got my contender for favorite album.
REVIEWED BY MAT LINDENBERG
MAT’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Destroy Everything” • “Sara Snow” • “Sick Doctor Blues”
Read more from Mat on his blog, Everything is Unnecessary
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