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about this album
released march 2008 "It really is a kind of concept album. Sort of an odd and beautiful tribute to the mundane repetition of traveling through a pointless work day, including samples of TTC drivers calling out upcoming stops. It feels a bit like peeking in on someone’s mid-commute daydreams of hopes, plans and regrets." -- www.twowaymonologues.com "What if Neil Young had ditched the flannel shirts and spent the early ‘90s hanging with Galaxie 500 instead of Pearl Jam? You get the feeling that James Hicken’s spent more than a few blissed-out nights wondering about that very scenario. Hicken, a Toronto-based musician with east coast roots and New York connections, is the principal musician behind The Wallscenery Demos. This self-titled, self-produced, self-released CD is comprised of 17 short sketches, mostly simple acoustic or electric strummers that’ve been stonewashed with lo-fi crackles and sound collages. In his poppier moments, like “Yesterday’s Owl,” Hicken channels Robert Pollard via a keening, Neil-style croon; in his more oblique moments, like “Way Out,” he samples and manipulates tape hiss and Bill Cosby stand-up routines. The results can be a little shapeless, but overall it’s a pleasant, ramshackle listen. " -- eye weekly User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
