Here it is. 2003's rapidly drawing to a close and here come the squeakers. Nobody just might be one of the elusive phantoms haunting the edges of this years best-of lists. I was shocked upon hearing this record, since the last Nobody release was such a traditional downtempo hip-hop affair; and now, all of a sudden, it's a Beach Boys trip-hop celebration! Now don't let that scare you. This combination works better than you might think, and this reviewer happens to despise the Beach Boys (yes, even Pet Sounds + Smile). There are vocals, but it just so happens that the best song here has Chris Gunst (of Beachwood Sparks) doing a Monkees tune. The chugging melodic procession of "Porpoise Song" is the most magically poignant psych-pop flowering I've heard in some time. It'll stick in your head all day and you won't mind a bit.
As for the rest of the LP, it's just lovely and belongs in the pantheon of uplifting, beat-heavy psychedelia occupied by Up in Flames and Rounds. But Nobody definitely maintains his own identity throughout, driving a concentrated marriage of old school beats and a tantalizing soup of trippy textures and melodies to its logical breaking point. He's crafted a superb, sun-stroked mélange, alternating between ditties and moods and always infusing the mix with ear-perking textures. I say this is a Beach Boys adaptation, but that's only recognizable through Nobody's Wilson-esque mastery of studio space and ambient bells and whistles (the sounds of children playing in the background of "Psilo-Cycling").
This marriage works incredibly well on "Images of April," whose two-note trilling recalls Buffalo Springfield’s "For What It’s Worth," only beefed up with a hearty breakbeat. Hybridizations frequently amount to little more than gimmicky throwaways, but Nobody manages them here with such acute compositional intuition that you can't help but get a "eureka" type reaction. He treads some of his tried and true ground in moody instrumentals on "Sioux's Rain, Pt. 3" with decidedly pleasing results, proving that he understands the value of variety on a record. Something that other largely instrumental acts could surely benefit from.
So, good morning starshine, the earth says hello! You twinkle above us and as the cards would have it, we twinkle below. Thanks to the innovations of Nobody, M83, and The New Pornographers (among others), it's finally okay to feel this way again. What is so funny about peace, love, and understanding anyway? I'm not laughing. When it comes to the jubilant bliss-outs on display with this LP, I swear I could cry I'm so ecstatic.
1. Coming Up To The Surface
2. White Folding Slowly
3. The Beaches on Neptune
4. Porpoise Song
5. Interlude 1
6. After The Summer Hits
7. Psilo-Cycling (Trip 'Round the Block)
8. Images of April
9. Interlude 2 / Sioux's Rain, Pt. 3
10. What Fall Brings
11. This Will Be Our Year
12. Interlude 3
13. Electro-Acoustic
14. Headspace
15. I Won't Hurt You
16. Going Under...
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