Tone Soul Evolution

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Part of the Elephant Six collective of psychedelic pop bands (they were high school chums with The Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel in their hometown of Ruston, LA), the now-Denver-based Apples In Stereo run wild with their Beach Boys/Pet Sounds fixation on their splendid second album. Guitarist/vocalist Robert Schneider is the key auteur here, crafting a winning set of strange but melodic tunes. Drummer Hilarie [stet] Sidney also gets props for contributing to the irresistible harmonies. (Witness the big, orchestral/vocal build-up at the end of "Silver Chain.")Jim Derogatis --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Tone Soul Evolution
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Pop Bliss
  • Seems so, I don't know!
  • The best pop album of the 90s
  • Way more than just retro jangle pop
  • terrific
 Tone Soul Evolution
The Apples In Stereo
Manufacturer: Sire / London/Rhino
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Her Wallpaper Reverie
  2. The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone
  3. Fun Trick Noisemaker
  4. Velocity of Sound
  5. New Magnetic Wonder

ASIN: B0000020ZI
Release Date: 1998-02-10

Tracks:

  1. Seems So
  2. What's The #?
  3. About Your Fame
  4. Shine A Light
  5. Silver Chain
  6. Get There Fine
  7. The Silvery Light Of A Dream
  8. The Silvery Light Of A Dream (part II)
  9. We'll Come To Be
  10. Tin Pan Alley
  11. You Said That Last Night
  12. Try To Remember
  13. Find Our Way
  14. Coda

Amazon.com

Part of the Elephant Six collective of psychedelic pop bands (they were high school chums with The Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel in their hometown of Ruston, LA), the now-Denver-based Apples In Stereo run wild with their Beach Boys/Pet Sounds fixation on their splendid second album. Guitarist/vocalist Robert Schneider is the key auteur here, crafting a winning set of strange but melodic tunes. Drummer Hilarie [stet] Sidney also gets props for contributing to the irresistible harmonies. (Witness the big, orchestral/vocal build-up at the end of "Silver Chain.")Jim Derogatis

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Pop Bliss.......2007-02-01

God Bless the Elephant 6 collective for putting out gems like this. This disc was actually the first from that label of wunderkinds that I ever got turned onto. Although the vocals are a bit boyish (not unlike Of Montreal), the disc stays pretty firmly in pop territory rather than some of the meanderings of other Elephant 6 groups. Check this out for sure. The first track is wildly infective: "Seems So"

4 out of 5 stars Seems so, I don't know!.......2006-12-22

The Apples in Stereo have always been the sunnier, psychpoppier side of the late Elephant 6 Collective, and they do what they do best in "Tone Soul Evolution" -- channel classic sixties pop music, with a slight fuzz edge, Beatlesesque vocals and enchantingly shimmery pop tunes.

It opens with the sparkly guitar indiepop of "Seems So," a catchy little tune which features Rob Schneider singing like a long-lost Beatle. It also blossoms lyrically after a few stanzas, switching from late-night sightings to "When somebody sees to sky open wide/and rides the solar system/if he saw the moonlight pass him by/what would you think about him?" It finishes up with the lament of, "oh doctor, it seems so, I don't know."

It's followed up by a steady "What's The #?," full grinding catchy guitar riffs and the occasional "country" sound. Their pop rock follows the same path -- sweet guitar pop, swirling psychpop about "my lucky star,"
sharp-edged rockers, airy ballads, experimental songs full of footsteps and seagulls.

It climaxes with the shimmering, shifting "The Silvery Light Of A Dream (Part II)," with its bubbling guitar and eerily all-over-the-place vocals. In this song, the album becomes much, much more than catchy psychpop -- it shows the pure talent that this band has.

The Apples are in good form here -- not quite their best, but certainly better than their worst -- the rollicking kind of psychpop you can both enjoy musically and bob along to in the car. It does suffer a little from songs that sound just a wee bit too alike, with similar countryish riffs in several songs. Mix it up a little!

But the Apples do have a knack for turning those guitars into any sound they want -- a swirling sound, a bubbling melody, a soft folky strum, and a brazen blare of rock'n'roll. It's backed by some soft synth and other scraps of instrumentation, and even a harmonica.

Ron Schneider's voice is, as I've said, like that of a long-lost Beatle or Zombie -- smooth, pleasant to the ear, but with a sort of young sprightly edge. And he sings songs that are wonderfully evocative and a little sad sometimes ("Dreams come to dreamers at night/tell of the sights you have seen,/silvery light of a dream,/saw you last night and you seemed/lost in a dream...")

The Apples sound like the long-lost love children of the Beach Boys, and in this album they show off how much they LOVE psychpop from the sixties. And if someone loves psychpop from the sixties, they're likely to love "Tone Soul Evolution."

5 out of 5 stars The best pop album of the 90s.......2006-05-25

This album references a multitude of great pop influences, but the songs on Tone Soul are highly original, beautifully produced, catchy and interesting. I've had this since it came out and I would never part with it.

4 out of 5 stars Way more than just retro jangle pop.......2005-04-28

Not sure how someone can call this "pseudo-60's crud." Dude, listen with your good ear! This album has so much going more going for it. Take opener "Seems So" is a wonderful look at a guy trying to explain an unusual phenomenon. A few listens and you finding yourself joining in his mystery. Yup-jangle-pop-catchy chorus-power pop, but The Beach Boys? Not in the few tracks, at least. Think more Badfinger. Personal is "About Your Fame," an mainly acoustic effort discussing a friend's changes.
Okay a touch of Beach Boys here. "Silver Chain," "Tin Pan Alley," and album ending delight "Coda" are worth the price of admission. Don't miss this one.

5 out of 5 stars terrific.......2004-09-16

Great, melodic album. Every song on it is good, and it's perfect to listen to all the way through in one sitting. If I had to pick singles they'd be "Seems So" and "Get There Fine."
Tone Soul Evolution
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Pop Bliss
  • Seems so, I don't know!
  • The best pop album of the 90s
  • Way more than just retro jangle pop
  • terrific
 Tone Soul Evolution
The Apples in Stereo
Manufacturer: Spin Art
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Lo-FiLo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Indie RockIndie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Neo-PsychedeliaNeo-Psychedelia | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Power PopPower Pop | Rock | Styles | Music
CDs $7 - $10CDs $7 - $10 | Alternative General | Alternative Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
All Bargain TitlesAll Bargain Titles | Alternative General | Alternative Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
CDs $7 - $10CDs $7 - $10 | Indie & Lo Fi | Alternative Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
All Bargain TitlesAll Bargain Titles | Indie & Lo Fi | Alternative Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Indie & Lo FiIndie & Lo Fi | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
American AlternativeAmerican Alternative | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Her Wallpaper Reverie
  2. The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone
  3. Fun Trick Noisemaker
  4. Velocity of Sound
  5. New Magnetic Wonder

ASIN: B0000020ZG
Release Date: 1997-09-30

Tracks:

  1. Seems So
  2. Whats The #?
  3. About Your Fame
  4. Shine A Light
  5. Silver Chain
  6. Get There Fine
  7. The Silvery Light Of A Dream
  8. The Silvery Light Of A Dream (Part2)
  9. We'll Come To Be
  10. Tin Pan Alley
  11. You Said That Last Night
  12. Try To Remember
  13. Find Our Way
  14. Coda

Amazon.com

Part of the Elephant Six collective of psychedelic pop bands (they were high school chums with The Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel in their hometown of Ruston, LA), the now-Denver-based Apples In Stereo run wild with their Beach Boys/Pet Sounds fixation on their splendid second album. Guitarist/vocalist Robert Schneider is the key auteur here, crafting a winning set of strange but melodic tunes. Drummer Hilarie [stet] Sidney also gets props for contributing to the irresistible harmonies. (Witness the big, orchestral/vocal build-up at the end of "Silver Chain.")Jim Derogatis

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Pop Bliss.......2007-02-01

God Bless the Elephant 6 collective for putting out gems like this. This disc was actually the first from that label of wunderkinds that I ever got turned onto. Although the vocals are a bit boyish (not unlike Of Montreal), the disc stays pretty firmly in pop territory rather than some of the meanderings of other Elephant 6 groups. Check this out for sure. The first track is wildly infective: "Seems So"

4 out of 5 stars Seems so, I don't know!.......2006-12-22

The Apples in Stereo have always been the sunnier, psychpoppier side of the late Elephant 6 Collective, and they do what they do best in "Tone Soul Evolution" -- channel classic sixties pop music, with a slight fuzz edge, Beatlesesque vocals and enchantingly shimmery pop tunes.

It opens with the sparkly guitar indiepop of "Seems So," a catchy little tune which features Rob Schneider singing like a long-lost Beatle. It also blossoms lyrically after a few stanzas, switching from late-night sightings to "When somebody sees to sky open wide/and rides the solar system/if he saw the moonlight pass him by/what would you think about him?" It finishes up with the lament of, "oh doctor, it seems so, I don't know."

It's followed up by a steady "What's The #?," full grinding catchy guitar riffs and the occasional "country" sound. Their pop rock follows the same path -- sweet guitar pop, swirling psychpop about "my lucky star,"
sharp-edged rockers, airy ballads, experimental songs full of footsteps and seagulls.

It climaxes with the shimmering, shifting "The Silvery Light Of A Dream (Part II)," with its bubbling guitar and eerily all-over-the-place vocals. In this song, the album becomes much, much more than catchy psychpop -- it shows the pure talent that this band has.

The Apples are in good form here -- not quite their best, but certainly better than their worst -- the rollicking kind of psychpop you can both enjoy musically and bob along to in the car. It does suffer a little from songs that sound just a wee bit too alike, with similar countryish riffs in several songs. Mix it up a little!

But the Apples do have a knack for turning those guitars into any sound they want -- a swirling sound, a bubbling melody, a soft folky strum, and a brazen blare of rock'n'roll. It's backed by some soft synth and other scraps of instrumentation, and even a harmonica.

Ron Schneider's voice is, as I've said, like that of a long-lost Beatle or Zombie -- smooth, pleasant to the ear, but with a sort of young sprightly edge. And he sings songs that are wonderfully evocative and a little sad sometimes ("Dreams come to dreamers at night/tell of the sights you have seen,/silvery light of a dream,/saw you last night and you seemed/lost in a dream...")

The Apples sound like the long-lost love children of the Beach Boys, and in this album they show off how much they LOVE psychpop from the sixties. And if someone loves psychpop from the sixties, they're likely to love "Tone Soul Evolution."

5 out of 5 stars The best pop album of the 90s.......2006-05-25

This album references a multitude of great pop influences, but the songs on Tone Soul are highly original, beautifully produced, catchy and interesting. I've had this since it came out and I would never part with it.

4 out of 5 stars Way more than just retro jangle pop.......2005-04-28

Not sure how someone can call this "pseudo-60's crud." Dude, listen with your good ear! This album has so much going more going for it. Take opener "Seems So" is a wonderful look at a guy trying to explain an unusual phenomenon. A few listens and you finding yourself joining in his mystery. Yup-jangle-pop-catchy chorus-power pop, but The Beach Boys? Not in the few tracks, at least. Think more Badfinger. Personal is "About Your Fame," an mainly acoustic effort discussing a friend's changes.
Okay a touch of Beach Boys here. "Silver Chain," "Tin Pan Alley," and album ending delight "Coda" are worth the price of admission. Don't miss this one.

5 out of 5 stars terrific.......2004-09-16

Great, melodic album. Every song on it is good, and it's perfect to listen to all the way through in one sitting. If I had to pick singles they'd be "Seems So" and "Get There Fine."

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