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-minu...   [ read more ]

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Named in honor of a line of furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames, Chicago based chamber-pop outfit the Aluminum Group is led by brothers John and Frank Navin. Early contributors to the Wicker Park music scene, the Navin brothers first surfaced in 1983 as members of the hardcore band Women in Love.Eventually their secret affection for the buoyant music of the Carpenters and Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 surfaced when John and Frank formed the Aluminum Group, stubbornly crafting their own singular bran...   [ read more ]

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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 ...   [ read more ]

CD $14.23