indy cd & vinyl

LOW FREQUENCY IN STEREO—THE LAST TEMPTATION OF THE LOW FREQUENCY IN STEREO 

Norwegian Grammy nominees in 2001, the Low Frequency In Stereo (LFIS) are only now gaining stateside notice with the domestic release of their third album, The Last Temptation Of the Low Frequency In Stereo. A simple, basic four-piece of guitar, organs, bass and drums, LFIS distinguish themselves on their latest album with their ability to craft songs that contain both multiple, catchy hooks as well as drawn-out ‘semi-psychedelic” guitar-organ jams. In addition, their male-female vocals add yet more variety to their tunes, as do the occasional horn parts. Their opener, “Big City Lights,” sets out the template. Opening with a nice drum beat that underlines both heavily reverbed as well as angular guitar patterns, the song also incorporates a beautiful horn fanfare in the chorus, while light organ sounds percolate throughout.  As with most of their songs, layers of guitars provide the “psyche” element, but without overriding the poppier side of their vocal melodies and keyboard hooks.  While LFIS specialize in 3-minute plus songs crammed full of hummable musical parts, the centerpiece here is the 10-minute title song. Starting off with a slow steady drum pattern that emphasizes the offbeats, several overlapping guitar figures come into play. Then strong organ chords crash in, the drumming revs up, a beautiful lead guitar solo comes to the fore, and the song turns into a rock juggernaut.  Drawing heavily from the well of 60s garage rock and 80s English-influenced songwriting, LFIS have fashioned a modern psyche-rock sound that some might compare to a more hook-filled and less experimental Sonic Youth, but that really has few fellow travelers among today’s groups.