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1999
The Dark Fantastic
About This Album
Screaming Trees and Truly drummer Mark Pickerel fronts the intrepid Dark Fantastic, still as much the brisk indie guitar player and risk-taker as before. The tunes are generally fine even-handed melodies, with some crunchy, button-punching studio technics -- plus some liberally atomized melancholia just to keep you serious. The thundershowers of "I'm No Good" and "Protected by Their Prayers" plunge the record into some initial motor discomfort, but it gets interesting when the pace just plain slows down. On "In Love with You," the higher registers and dervishes of Martin Feveyear's keyboards and Jesse Roberts' complaining guitar create a more complex musical dialogue, and this is really when the record gets good. "Four Stories High" suggests that the closer you listen, the more playful Roberts may get as he punctuates the after-hours mellow licks with some startling Isham-esque trumpet overlays. Pickerel invites fellow Screaming Tree Van Conner to sit in the guest bass player hot seat on the wild, quasi-Cars-ish "Wind Forever" and the splendid and morose "As You Were Leaving." Although no newcomer to the indie rock scene, Pickerel's occasional long absences may make listeners feel slighted -- but when's he's here, he'll keep you guessing. ~ Becky Byrkit, All Music Guide
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4 and 8)

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