Through the feverish haze of an influenza-turned-bronchitis
epidemic that ravaged three quarters of my family, Week of Wonders was there.
Its ramshackle, ultra-lo-fi, sludge fed my disease and – along with a
hefty dose of antibiotics – pushed me through to the other side, the healthy
side (or at least I hope so).
The product of one Lime Eyelid (a.k.a. Josh Schultz), a
drummer turned multi-instrumentalist who plays in the Brooklyn-based psych band
Travelling Circle, this album takes the concept of private press to the extreme,
right down to the sparsely decorated album sleeve. Adorned only with text and what appears to be
some sort of found family photo, the artwork is almost as bare bones as it can
be. The music, however, is pretty thick;
codeine-based cough syrup thick; the contents of my infected sinuses thick;
brain fog thick. Its heft is what
ultimately keeps it afloat in the mind, with little earworms of melody invading
the grey matter, usurping traditional thought.
Only one of the songs has a title (the only one with words),
the most straightforward of the bunch, “I Saw Waves”. Its sparse electric guitar chords (drenched
in space echo), falsetto vocals, and ghostly theremin unfurl like an LSD-lased rockabilly
classic played in ultra-slow-motion. The
remaining tracks are pretty intense, and range from loping psych rock creepers
to sludge-drone feasts. Schultz plays
everything: drums, synths, guitars, theremins, tapes, and ghostly vocalizing. Each of these elements is wielded like a
brick-layer’s trowel as he constructs each song, piece by piece. The resulting miasma, although alien, is highly
engaging, the perfect antidote for the evil sickness that invaded my body last
week.
Lime Eyelid is as enigmatic as his music. Those interested can try to reach out via
SoundCloud for a dose of his psychedelic medicine. Enjoy!
