"cyrano de bergerac is painting his room canary yellow / while the band gets in tune..."
The abstract boogie woogie whimsy of "Psychodrama" by Seattle singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Brian Noyes, is fun sophisticated ditty that feels wonderfully rare these days. Pulling elements of 60's dancehall seeded rock, 70's glam and kind of overall baroque pop with psychedelic moods on high. I love the blend and while it pushes nostalgic buttons in a big way I secretly wish that this kind of lean would happen more often. In a previous review of Noyes' music I wrote "brilliant, adorable, smart and time transporting and had me thinking of various songs and artists like The Kinks' Mr. Pleasant (1967) or Dedicated Follower of Fashion (1965) and even Paul and Linda McCartney's Monkberry Moon Delight" in regards to his track "Dollhouse Man" and here I feel the kinds of whimsy that you might associate with Sparks, XTC and maybe a Monty Python satirical look at the Beatles or The Who. This is wonderful escapist fare.
LINER NOTES (bracketed):
LYRICS
cyrano de bergerac
is painting his room
canary yellow
while the band gets in tune
they got bloody mary
on the contra bass
and a tin man drummer
dragging the pace
this could be your last dance
before the violence
a celebrated entrance
for the square pegs
and the scrambled eggs
cyrano de bergerac
is painting the room
a dutch orange
while the bands getting boo'd
they got cinderella
on the cello there
and a wolf man singer
all in mohair
this could be your last ball
before the bombs fall
be all and the end all
a black mass
and a laughing gas
thus spoke the magpie
to the mad cow
you're counting your friends
on a clenching fist, now
cyrano de bergerac is painting his room
canary yellow
while the band comes unglued
they got baba yaga
on the baby grand
and the conductor
he's a gingerbread man
this could be your last dance
before the violence
this could be your last chance...
cyrano de bergerac
is painting his room
canary yellow
while the band gets in tune
they got bloody mary
on the contra bass
and a tin man drummer
dragging the pace
this could be your last dance
before the violence
a celebrated entrance
for the square pegs
and the scrambled eggs
cyrano de bergerac
is painting the room
a dutch orange
while the bands getting boo'd
they got cinderella
on the cello there
and a wolf man singer
all in mohair
this could be your last ball
before the bombs fall
be all and the end all
a black mass
and a laughing gas
thus spoke the magpie
to the mad cow
you're counting your friends
on a clenching fist, now
cyrano de bergerac is painting his room
canary yellow
while the band comes unglued
they got baba yaga
on the baby grand
and the conductor
he's a gingerbread man
this could be your last dance
before the violence
this could be your last chance...
The sheer sideways fun that sounds so delightful might have dark underpinnings or veiled social commentary. Like the band playing on the Titanic, one wonders if we are near the end days. I mean our leader here in America is a nutcase and current times make the movie "Idiocracy" seem tame. I think at times like this we need songs like this before we go and kick political ass.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://briannoyes.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/brian.noyes.songs/
Brian Noyes is a Seattle, Washington based singer-songwriter. He is a member of the psych pop group Tomten and also performs as a touring keyboardist for San Francisco band Papercuts. Influenced by the likes of The Clientele, Duncan Browne, John Cale, and Vashti Bunyan, Noyes' self-titled debut album is “a well-crafted collection of psych-tinged baroque-pop. With a warm and dreamy sound, the album showcases instruments such as Mellotron, piano, nylon string guitar, synths, flute, sax, violin, and cello.” - KEXP
Noyes worked with producer Jason Quever (Papercuts, Cass McCombs, and Beach House) in Los Angeles and with Andy Meyer and Nicholas Wilbur at The Unknown in Anacortes, Washington. The single "Knowing" is a wurlitzer-driven ballad featuring 12-string guitar, mellotron, and celeste, while the darker B-side, "Doomsday," pairs nylon guitar with a midi-controlled pipe organ. Through his music, Brian Noyes establishes himself as an artist with a distinct sound, blending elements of psych folk, baroque pop, and introspective songwriting.
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