Ceduna
The Sand Pebbles
Score:77
Reviewer: Ed Butler
Label: Inertia (Australia)
Reviewed: Jul 23rd '08, Released:2008
Melbourne’s Sand Pebbles inhabit a unique place in their particular niche of spacey psych-rock. Their debut, Ghost Transmissions was released to absolutely zero fanfare, yet, on the back of little publicity and no touring, critical acclaim built to the point where the record was at least as modestly successful as their day jobs. That success has now led to more regular gigs, a still-expanding reputation on the local scene, and now, the recording of a third album.
In doing so, the band decided to relocate to the edge of Australian civilization – Ceduna, a tiny underground town on the edge of the Nullabor plain, a vast, treeless expanse that stretches thousands of kilometres from central to Western Australia. The spirit of the place, the sensation of an endless void and laying in gentle repose has led The Sand Pebbles to create a deliciously spacious suite of hallucinogenic rock. Ceduna has an unhurried and unaffected air which perfectly evokes the imagery of open desert meeting isolated ocean, which is surprising considering the lack of clear air the record leaves available.
Almost every second is crammed with deliriously reverberating noises, layered one upon the other, occasionally accompanied by simple chiming guitar melodies. Even quieter moments often have the gentle him of overdubbed sound hidden deep in the well of silence. When space is allowed for the sounds to breathe, as on ’Short Term Memory Loss’ and ‘Tennessee Says’, it is essentially an instrument in itself, allowing the band’s improvisations to wander with only the guidance of the simple rhythms to constrain them. The sheer volume of sound calls to mind feelings almost the inverse to listening to Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga from last year, in that Britt Daniel’s skill is in creating sparse music that immediately feels lush and full, The Sand Pebbles make sumptuous, busy songs that feel luxurious and open.
To hold the listeners’ attention during what is essentially five gentlemen jamming in the outback suggests a depth of talent lacking in so many of the Sand Pebbles’ contemporaries. In following the footsteps of a long dead French surveyor, they have managed to sonically recreate a unique landscape with an effectiveness rarely seen today. If only all bands could retreat to the desert, get apocalyptically high, and create music as thrilling as this. The Sand Pebbles will never be globe-trotting megastars, never sell bucketloads of records, but, with Ceduna adding to an already impressive repertoire, they are certainly establishing themselves as one of the best, and most respected, bands in Australia.
