Search - Arms of Someone New :: Susan Sleepwalking

Amateurish But Enjoyable Neo-Psychedelia

Pop Kulcher | San Carlos, CA USA | 04/18/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Our tale begins long, long ago in a place far, far away -- or, more specifically, 1987. I'd been a college radio dj for a couple years, and was starting to grow tired of spinning the same old obligatory albums by R.E.M., Husker Du, Minutemen, Minor Threat, etc... so, for my last semester of college, I decided to ditch my cushy prime-time gig and set up a late night specialty show. It was called Mind Gardens, and the idea was to play nothing but trippy, mellow, psychedelic, moody stuff -- in other words, music for the chemically-altered listener. And while I'd throw in the occasional nod to "classic" psychedelia (i.e. Byrds, Floyd), in keeping with the college radio thing I aimed for less dated, more alternative-ish stuff (i.e. lots of Eno, Joy Division, Cocteau Twins, mellower Jesus & Mary Chain, etc.) One album which ended up in frequent rotation was Susan Sleepwalking, the 1985 debut from a relatively unknown midwestern band called Arms of Someone New. It was a somber mix of cheap-sounding drum machines and keyboards with some low-key guitar strummings and lazy male vocals -- kind of a low-rent mix between the Cocteau Twins (at least musically) and Brian Eno. It wasn't all that great, and it was very amateurish -- but it meshed perfectly with the sound I was trying to capture on my show. Alas, the band disappeared into (further) obscurity, the album never came out on cd, and all I had left was an old cassette taped from a well-worn album. Obviously, I was pretty surprised when a small label in Chicago reissued the album on cd in mid-2000. It doesn't sound any more accomplished now than it did then, but if you're looking for music to accompany an evening of pharmaceutical abuse (which, of course, I would never advocate) -- well, it'll do the trick. Lots of bonus tracks, too."