This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Picture yourself in a boat on a river … with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison battling Brian Wilson, Frank Zappa and Marc Bolan for control of the wheel.
Then toss in an hour of cotton-candy harmonies, freak-out sonic experiments and elegantly surreal pop and you get a sense of what’s packed into Athens, Ga., outfit Olivia Tremor Control’s overwhelming sophomore album. More than two years in the making, these 27 psychedelic trips divided into four movements are like a luscious soundtrack to a dream — “a way to animate the sounds we hear inside” our subconscious. To that end, these sunshine supermen use everything from toy pianos to orchestral strings, all woven into arrangements that would impress George Martin. Brilliantly complex and playfully poppy, Black Foliage is a White Album for the ’90s.
