Sometimes my ears tell my heart what to love, and I don’t always understand why. When the first notes of “From Outer Space” hit, I knew why. And then the vocals slide in like a seductive sonic wink and I’m down for the count. There is nothing else to do but listen.
Listen to Lisa Said sing through dusky waves, bringing to mind the dream pop grooves of Magic Wands if they moved under some goth touched Patti Smith tones. And then there’s a sudden shift, kick, and swagger into the next song. “Stains In The Sofa” rocks and rolls delicately harsh under Said’s direction. It’s like if The Kills decided to cover a 10,000 Maniacs b-side and it turned out better than anyone expected. The melodics move and beckon, the lyrics catch and hold. I need more.
It’s been five years since Piramid Scheme’s (not to be confused by Pittsburgh’s Pyramid Scheme) last release, Seen This Before, and while the album art makes a solid connection with this trilogy of releases, the striking collages by Syrian artist Ayham Jabr, the music pulls each album, including 2018’s Get Rich Quick Too through slightly different visions of shadow and light and slightly different groupings of musicians. Each incarnation held and led by Said’s sure and steady vocals, but for this release, combining it with the talents of original band members Andrew Toy and Darrien Day as well as Arthur Nedel of Projeto Hare, along with Howard Rabach and Richard Benjumea.
And that brings us back to this four song EP, and its third track, “Old Icarus”. This one moves a little brighter, poppier, lighter. The phrasings still bring in hints of Natalie Merchant, but moving in a more power popped direction, sprinkled with a little 60’s shine in the guitars. And then the title track ends it all in a melancholy heatwave drift, like a last drive down a dusty highway as the sun sets once again. Back to that Patti Smith curl in the voice, but this time touched with a Hope Sandoval swoon. It all ends too soon.
