ALBUM: The Laissez Fairs, ‘The Laissez Fairs’
Though the Laissez Fairs’ debut album was released just a few months ago, you’d be forgiven for mistaking almost any of the tracks for an unjustly forgotten 1960s psychedelic nugget. Based in Las Vegas, the Laissez Fairs are led by John Fallon (of 1980s psych band the Steppes) and Joe Lawless (O’s of Presidential), with Chris Glaser on drums and David Whitt on Rickenbacker 12-string. The band advertises itself as “maximum mod psych freakout,” and that’s exactly what this CD delivers.
The Laissez Fairs’ sound is built on crunchy guitars, melodic bass lines, keyboards both garage-reedy and psych-swirly, and simple-but-effective harmonies. Every song on the album offers a new insight into their musical influences and it’s clear they’ve translated the sounds they love into one that’s clearly their own. ‘The opener, “He’s Your Replacement,” could pass for a Revolver outtake. It’s followed by “Crows Sing Loud,” which features a creepy descending melody line in the chorus, and ends with a good minute-and-a-half guitar solo outro. “Forgotten” begins with dreamy organ and then transforms into a heavy guitar rocker with sinister lyrics (“Measuring your coffin and sending it to Spain/…All those creepy faces projecting phony pain”) that give way in the choruses to anguished “wow”s. “Miss Six Foot Legs” channels XTC’s Dukes of Stratosphear project, and while “Never Come Back” starts off sounding a lot like “He’s Your Replacement,” it quickly distinguishes itself with its echoing piano, chiming guitar, tambourines and “sha la la”s that would be positively bubblegum if it weren’t for all that distortion.
“Primrose Hill” is a wonderfully twee stalker song that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Hollies album, and “Can’t Afford You, Honey” is pure sneering garage rock. The spooky “Spiral” layers wordless, echoing vocals over menacing guitars, horror-movie organ, and a creepily playful keyboard line. The band goes power-pop on “Baby, I Don’t Care,” and pays tribute to a lost legend in the appropriately steel-guitar-tinged “Lament for Brian Jones.” Finally, there’s “Under the Sky,” which kind of sounds like something R.E.M. might have recorded if Michael Stipe had listened to more British psych, and Peter Buck had been goofing around with effects pedals during Fables of the Reconstruction instead of Green. It sounds odd on paper, but trust me, it’s accurate–and it makes for great music.
Beautifully produced by Fallon and Lawless at Lawless’ studio, Lawless Noise and Visions, The Laissez Fairs reveals new layers with every listen, especially on headphones — the outro of “Crows Sing Loud” and the entirety of “Spiral” are nearly trance-inducing. All of your favorite ’60s sounds are here, from the 12-string to Hammond B-3 and Farfisa organs, and mellotron, mellotron, mellotron. The regular lineup is augmented throughout the album by horn player Chandler Judkins, whose lyrical flugelhorn on “Primrose Hill” and martial trumpets on “Miss Six Foot Legs” are especially effective.
The Laissez Fairs is available digitally on Bandcamp and in digital and CD format on Amazon.
