BROTHER RAVEN - VSS-30

In 2010, the ride never seems to stop so if you want to get off youve just got to jump head first. Brother Raven, the Seattle-based duo of Jason Anderson (Spare Death Icon, Gift Tapes, etc) and Jamie Potter (ex-Bonus, Million Mists, etc) are taking synthesizer-based music into new and unexpected realms. Anderson and Potter are total time travellers, searching out old, forgotten methods and sounds and taking them into a square-wave future. VSS-30 is rooted in its namesakes primitive synthesis but is forward-thinking enough to take the listener on a tripped-out cosmic space walk. As with all their music, Brother Ravens sound is 100% improvised and always recorded to tape. That added warmth keeps their space-age intonations from getting distant or cold. The flip-side of the record dials things in and shows just how much focus and restraint the duo possess. More blitzed beats push things along at a reliable pace, underscored by repetitive tones leading into candy-striped, totally sweet synthesizer loops. VSS-30 seems, on the surface, to be all over the map but its absolutely cohesive and flows like a perfect pink stream. Theres no doubt that theres been dozens upon dozens of new synth-based bands and artists coming out of the woodwork over the last couple of years, but Brother Raven have shown over and over that theyve got a head above most. VSS-30 is an impressive, fully-realized piece of work that cements their place on the astral plane. Edition of 300 in silkscreened jackets. With full-color insert. -Digitalis