December 13, 2007
People
from outside Milwaukee who look down their noses at our local talent
should dig into this album by the Peder Hedman Quartet. Since the early
'80s, these musicians—Hedman (guitar, vocals), Tim Taylor (lap steel,
12-string guitar), Steve Whalen (drums, vocals) and Kurt Bauer
(bass)—have been an ongoing, low-key presence in area bands. With a
little luck, this CD will put them above the DIY radar.
The
sprawling 15-tune set moves from swirling psychedelic dreamscapes to
stomping riff rockers to warped bluegrass. Hedman's lyrical vision ties
everything together via imagery borrowed from everyday life ("Just
Because You Bug Me Now") and vivid, fever-dream head trips ("I'll Come
to Your Funeral If You Come to Mine"). Recorded and engineered by
Hedman at the band's home studio, the sound mix blends and melts
everything together in the vein of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. Backed
with a solid rhythm section, Hedman is free to take excursions on
guitar that allow the listener to ride shotgun on these Echoplex
journeys. The interplay among band members suggests a relaxed
intensity, and Taylor's eerie pedal steel alternately weeps or snakes
through the tunes like a ghost making its presence felt before fading
'til next time.
*/?>
