Brad Laner has been a presence in Los Angeles since the 1980s, a member of groups such as Medicine, Electric Company, and Lusk, but it wasn’t until 2007 that he released his first solo album, Neighbor Singing. Now, Natural Selections sees the multi-instrumentalist creating beautiful reverb-filled sonic landscapes, dominated by rich swells of sound and delicately blurry vocals.
On “Crawl Back In”, Laner’s voice melts into a warm combination of acoustic guitar and bass, joined by glitchy samples that serve as the hum of insects in his sunny, outdoor world. The buzz, which is more present on the upbeat “Brain,” dives into a pit of feedback before its ethereal outro. While the opener, “Eyes Close” alternates pronounced drum and vocal sections with delicate acoustic passages.
The singer’s voice is well-suited to most of his musical environments, adding a bright, psychedelic edge to his already effervescent sound-scapes. However, the bluntness of some of his lyrics takes away from the energy of his songs. Somewhere among the currents of “Throat” he sings “you’ve got to be ultra pissed-off.”
The vocal discordance of “Lancaster” is more annoying than compelling, and the directness of its refrain people buy drugs in Lancaster/people sell drugs in Lancaster seems out of place in the relaxed environment of Natural Selections as a whole.
However, for those seeking a pastoral trip that is somewhere smoother and less busy than those offered by Animal Collective or Black Moth Super Rainbow, Brad Laner is certainly a good choice to tickle your eardrums.
Conclusion—A pretty stream of uncertain depth.
>>>Somewhere among the currents of “Throat” he sings “you’ve got to be ultra pissed-off.”
No way, man ! I can’t even think of what part of the song you think I’m saying that in, but that’s wayyyy off.