7in - Licorice Roots - Strangers In Marshmallow Boots b/w Pixilated Pixie - Original Stock
"The sleeve and titles send up some dull red flags, but don’t be
fooled, it’s not some ‘90s pabulum rehash. It’s a real band FROM the
‘90s! In fact, Delaware’s Licorice Roots are former Shimmy Disc
recording artists, and recipient of Sassy Magazine’s “Cute Band Alert”
in 1993 (seriously). They’ve kept a capital ‘L’ low profile, quietly
releasing 4 albums over almost 20 years. “Strangers,” the single and
lead song from the band’s last full length, could be a warbling, lost
Morricone score from a Sergio Leone samurai western (eastern western?),
transferred from ancient unearthed reels and run through a cheapo fuzz.
Synth strings swell and embellish the lead melody just right – they’ve
clearly had time to develop their sound – and everything sounds old,
warm, and very familiar. “Pixilated Pixie” should satisfy any Kurt Vile
fans looking for more Violators material. Another warm mellow cyclical
jam of fuzzed up guitar wailing, this time with a single vocal line
repeated over a cooing synth organ. This is fantastic, all heart. Do
yourself a favor and find a copy." - Still Single
"What if, instead of splitting off to form Neutral Milk Hotel, the
Olivia Tremor Control, and the Apples in Stereo, the original core
members of the Elephant 6 collective had formed one band that
incorporated Jeff Mangum's scratchy lo-fi folk, Will Cullen Hart and
Bill Doss' trippy experimental tendencies, and Robert Schneider's knack
for clever pop hooks? The results would have sounded very much like the
Delaware psych-pop trio the Licorice Roots. In fact, the Licorice Roots
pre-date the recording careers of all three of those bands, but the
band's low profile, coupled with wide gaps between releases, has made
them hidden treasure for all but the most devoted fans of modern
psychedelia.
But before the Licorice Roots, there was Raymond Listen.
Singer/songwriter and guitarist Edward Moyse and drummer David Milsom
formed Raymond Listen in the college town of Newark, DE, in 1990. By
1992, organist and percussionist Dave Silverman completed the group, and
in 1993 they scored the coveted Cute Band Alert blurb from the
post-feminist teen magazine Sassy. Raymond Listen's debut album,
Licorice Root Orchestra, was produced by New Jersey noise pop maven
Kramer and released on his Shimmy-Disc label that same year. The band
added a second guitarist and percussionist for a national tour in early
1994, but split up shortly thereafter. However, only a few months later,
the core trio of Moyse, Silverman, and Milsom regrouped as the Licorice
Roots. Their first album under the new name took three years to
complete before being released as Melodeon in 1997. A second album,
Caves of the Sun, was self-released in 2003. In 2006, the Licorice Roots
signed with the Chicago-based indie Essay Records and released their
third album, Shades of Streamers. At the same time, Essay reissued
Licorice Root Orchestra in an expanded and remastered edition under the
Licorice Roots name." - allmusic.com
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