Review :: Psychotronic Wiretap :: Brown Recluse

Brown Recluse
Panoptic Mirror Maze
Self-Released



I woke up way too early this morning so I could toss my Vox Jaguar organ into the trunk of my dad's VW and have him drive me to a repair shop in the palatial suburbia of Kensington, MD. Kensington, MD, as it turns out, is the shittiest place on earth. I shut my eyes and dozed off as my dad pointed out the veterinary clinic he worked at when he was 16, now entirely swallowed by monolithic slabs of concrete that lifeless people buzz in and out of. I had a nightmare, then woke as the gurgle of the diesel engine quit, yanked the organ from the back, and knocked on the door of the windowless storefront. After a moment, Merlin opened the gate and welcomed me into his castle, a giant warehouse space filled wall to wall with vintage keyboards: Farfisa, Wurlitzer, Hammond, Rhodes, Arp, and now my Vox; I wanted to hear all of them playing at once.

Philly's psych-pop outfit Brown Recluse shares that same desire, but they have the means to make it reality. The fine folks over at Weekly Tape Deck recently posted a video for "Mirror Mansion," and I had to find out more. The song is available on Panoptic Mirror Maze, a free mini-LP offered on the band's Bandcamp page. This shit came out of nowhere for me; at times Martin Denny, other times BBC Radiophonic Workshop, or the Elephant Six, always technicolor and brimming with sugarsweet arrangements. "Mirror Mansion" pulls me straight off the couch and plugs me directly into the Ghost n' Goblins video game. I've always searched for that feeling. Fire-breathing ghouls knocking my clothes off, all pixelated and grainy. They take the warm hum of my analog dreams and paint murals with them.

Apparently, this release is a teaser of sorts for their upcoming debut LP, Evening Tapestry, out March 15 on Slumberland. If it's not pressed on glow-in-the-dark vinyl, I'm throwing it away.

Brown Recluse :: Mirror Mansion