Pedals fulfills the immense promise of the Aluminum Group's previous recordings, largely dispensing of the derivative synth-pop detours which hampered the preceding Plano to concentrate instead on the lush, darkly romantic, orchestral arrangements distinguishing the band's finest work. Co-produced by Jim O'Rourke, whose own masterpiece Eureka the record most closely recalls, Pedals' grandiose designs become immediately apparent with the opening "Rose Selavy's Valise," a nine-minut   [ read more ]

CD $14.23

At their best, the Aluminum Group craft gorgeously lush and airy chamber-pop on a par with the finest the genre has to offer; at their worst, they sound like a second-rate Magnetic Fields, with vocals eerily like the coffin-creaking of Stephen Merritt but without the biting lyrical wit or the uncanny melodic sophistication. Fortunately, the Aluminums' strengths typically win out on Plano -- for every misstep like the terribly-derivative synth-pop of "Angel on a Trampoline," there's a melan   [ read more ]

CD $14.23

Wonder Boy Plus reissues the Aluminum Group's self-released 1995 debut album along with ten bonus tracks; although all of the basic lyrical and musical ingredients that made the subsequent Plano such a treat are in place, it's a curiously enervated record that simply never achieves the majestic peaks of its follow-up. By and large, the material is much more campy than the Navin brothers' subsequent work, ranging from the catty "That Fossil You Call Your Lover" to the worshipful {&"Come Back M   [ read more ]

CD $14.23

Following the grandiose Baroque ambitions of the Jim O'Rourke-produced Pedals and the John Herndon-helmed electro-pop of Pelo, the Aluminum Group's fifth LP, Happyness, is both a return to their roots and a continuation of all that's come before, recalling the sly, sophisticated synth melodies of the Plano album while at the same time incorporating the torch ballad elegance, layered arrangements, and programmed beats that made intervening efforts so rewarding. The first install   [ read more ]

CD $15.18