All This Sounds Gas

Preston School Of Industry is the brainchild of Spiral Stairs, the guitarist, songwriter and 'other' founder of indie rock giants Pavement. Unlike his bandmate Stephen Malkmus, Spiral returns not with a solo debut but a new band. Together with Andrew Borger (Tom Waits, Moore Bros.) on drums and Jon Erickson (Moore Bros.) on bass, PSOI taps into Spiral's enthusiasm for all things Echo and the Bunnymen, Fall, Kinks, and Clean -- filtered through his Central Valley Americana roots.

Pre/post Pavement-demise Spiral continued to write music and started his own Amazing Grease Records, releasing records from the likes of Oranger, Carlos, Sunless Day, Cole Marquis, Aaron Nudelman, and the Moore Brothers. Then, after uncovering a four-track player full of tunes written for Pavement's last record, 'Terror Twilight,' and armed with an ankle-deep record collection reflecting his punk-rock and post-rock fanaticism, newly and firmly inspired Spiral steps to the mic at the head of PSOI. Aspiring to a hum-under-your-breath and tap-your-toes while bobbing-your-head-incessantly-to-the-music sort of sound, PSOI provides Spiral with the perfect environment to combine his influences into a full-length release of his own. And with its layers that reveal themselves gradually and its penchant to let things lie, sometimes magically and imperfectly, we find 'All This Sounds Gas' one of the most refreshing and original albums we've heard in a long time. PSOI sets fire to all of George's lawn gnomes as Spiral sidesteps all comparisons to previous incarnations to begin building the foundations of a whole new dynasty of his own.