format: cd-r / digital
released: october 17 2000
tracklisting
1.rendez-vous at the colony, columbia, october 1958
2.jack at the horseraces
3.eagles are hovering near the village
4.remembering warcrimes
5.the old woman has been fastidious
6.otis left him at morning’s dew
7.empty bottles and candle drippings
info
Drums, guitar, bass and piano make up the first non-electronic release by Psychon Troopers. Morning Became Eclectic is the soundtrack to a fictional film. The artwork and titles from the album illustrate the atmosphere of the film. Psychon Troopers brought ninety minutes of material back to half an hour of intense cinematic music.
press downloads
hi-res image of cover
press release (dutch)
review
january 25 2002
by jos witsenburg
piano, clean guitar, (double?) bass, drums and the occasional sound effect. that’s all the Psychon Troopers need to paint seven situations, seven shades of evening in half an hour. the bandname somehow suggested a very different music to me than the sweet and pleasant atmosperes I was surprised to find. but then again, from their site I understand this is their only non-electronic product. the movie to which this CD is the score is fictional. a clever plot to open up a jar of dreamed-up context to work with. I’m gonna roll with the punches, there’s no rush here.
Psychon trooper is Jantijn Prins, Coen Polack and Lars Meijer I met Lars at Guided by voices (Pukkelpop 2001 in Belgium), on the day that toute NL attended the ever popular Lowlands Festival. I remember Lars only vaguely, he talked to my friend Ben who was gathering names and adresses of hardcore Pollardians. It was Ben who got a copy of ‘Music from the film Morning Became Eclectic’. I ‘stole’ it as soon as I reasonably could with reviewing intentions.
songtitles are important to me, as a verbal clue (morale or antidote) to the songs ‘forma’ in my mind, especially in this ‘fictional movie’ case (and no vocals on the album). looks like PT does allright in this departement: an almost jazzy lulling echolalia is dubbed ‘Remembering warcrimes’, It’s easy to see the regretfull sinner drag himself through the darkness. ‘Otis left him at morning’s dew’ got me actively regretting Jimi Hendrix’s death, for the first time in ages. maybe that was the small guitar-outro to it.
The opening theme ‘Rendez-vous at the Colony, Columbia, october 1958’ turned into an invocation to the Jonestown tragedy in my mind, twenty years backwards in time. the music suggests no fierce drama, being easy and unthreatening with only a mild twist (swing?) in the songstory at the end. you have to bring your own murder, rape or name-calling on this album.
a few respectable names crept up whilst listening, but some time ago I decided to lay off comparing as much as possible so I only mention a name not meant to validate or ‘place’ the album. early in the second song ‘Jack at the Horseraces’, David Bowie briefly but naggingly passes by, the song stumbles over it and tramples it underfoot. quotes are not my thing, in pop nor composed music so I like my ironic interpretation of the killing of one.
who was it said: ‘keep your work interesting, stay away from explicitness’? it sure looks like this applies to the Psychon troopers album ‘Morning became eclectic’ eclectic: if you describe a collection of objects, ideas, or beliefs as eclectic, you mean that they are wide-ranging and come from many different sources. the Psychon Troopers prepared us a friendly film noire for our ears, with appropriately vague black and white album cover.