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Originally released in 1999 on Merge Records The Albemarle Sound the third full length LP by Brooklyn New York s The Ladybug Transistor exists just outside its fixed point in time and space. Perhaps the last great pop album of the 20th century The Albemarle Sound is like few records from the turn of the millennium its attention turned to the intricate arrangements of late 1960s pop and the strange and familiar environs of home. The notion of home is important to The Albemarle Sound not just lyrically and thematically but in the fact that the album was recorded mixed and produced in a Victorian house in Flatbush named Marlborough Farms. The Ladybug Transistor was formed in 1995 as the home recording project of singer and trumpeter Gary Olson and by 1999 the group had swelled to include siblings Jeff Baron guitar and Jennifer Baron bass Sasha Bell keyboards and flute San Fadyl drums and Julia Rydholm violin who lived together at Marlborough Farms a home filled with instruments recording equipment and a piano room where the group made demos The instruments and recording equipment around the studio seemed to have stories that were woven into the fabric of the house or its prior inhabitants recalls Jennifer the sense of history and community evident in the warmth of The Albemarle Sound . Recorded entirely analog on a 16 track machine the album invites the listener in by invoking place with an impressionist s attention to detail and a surrealist s curiosity. Moments at Sheepshead Bay and Prospect Park are transfigured in the light through the windshield of a car as tears are transubstantiated into summer rain and canals take the place of asphalt streets. Musically these scenes are given voice by Olson s rich baritone and animated by arrangements that meld elements of the kind of baroque orchestral pop practiced by Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach with the sweeping cinematic vistas of Luis Bacalov imbuing their surroundings with California sunshine and an occasional bit of western swagger. Each of The Albemarle Sound s 12 songs are soundscapes unto themselves entire neighborhoods built by the careful employment of voice and instruments every part exquisitely placed to prick the ear and pull the heartstrings at just the right time. The lineup that shaped The Albemarle Sound weaved in and out of each other s projects over the years that followed the album s release including Gary s solo output Jeff and Sasha s band The Essex Green Jennifer s band The Garment District and The Sasha Bell Band. The Ladybug Transistor released one album following the 2007 passing of drummer San Fadyl 2011 s Clutching Stems and in the time since The Albemarle Sound has grown in stature hailed as an essential release in the deep catalogs of Merge Records and the universe of bands adjacent to the Elephant 6 Recording Company alike. The album s 20th anniversary prompted shows in New York City and Norway featuring a reformed lineup of Gary Jeff Jennifer Sasha and Julia. A tour followed in 2023 focusing on songs released during the band s most productive period 1999 2003 that welcomed Derek Almstead Giant Day on drums and included a special engagement at The Andy Warhol Museum. For the 25th anniversary of The Albemarle Sound the record has been lovingly reissued on silver vinyl by Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. The CD includes 12 bonus tracks which break open the year long recording process with the inclusion of rare B sides four track demos instrumentals and alternate mixes further highlighting the band s mastery of songcraft while teasing out the intricate worlds those songs contain making a case as fans of The Ladybug Transistor have known for decades now that The Albemarle Sound is as infinitely rewarding to return to as it is to visit for the first time. This fall The Ladybug Transistor will embark on a tour in celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Albemarle Sound supported by Slumberland artists Lightheaded on the East Coast and Tony Molina on the West Coast.
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