Oranger: "Going Under" Video

Video description: San Francisco's psych-pop wonders Oranger are pleased to offer you "Shutdown The Sun", their latest release. Once described as "Pete Townshend and Keith Moon wrecking Brian Wilsons sandpit as Wayne Coyne wipes blood from his face," with Shutdown they move beyond retro-psych into pure pop, informed by years of record collecting, enhanced by mood-altering substances, and melded into something quite its own, thank you very much. They've been busy the past few years, touring with Elliott Smith, Guided By Voices, Pavement, R.E.M., The Apples In Stereo, and Wilco, to name a few -- each time invited at the artists request. While the band has been recording "Shutdown the Sun" for the past couple of years, they've also been balancing other projects: Matt joined The Posies, Mike and Jim played in Scott Kannberg's Preston School of Industry, and Patrick played with Tarnation's Paula Frazer. Mike Drake, lead singer and songwriter, is a Florida native who moved to California and joined up with Matt Harris, Oranger's bass player, co-songwriter, engineer monkey, in the Overwhelming Colorfast. Matt drove a U-Haul truck to Iowa, put drummer Jim Lindsay in it, and drove back to California. Patrick Main, keyboardist, joined shortly thereafter. In 1998 Oranger recorded their debut record Doorway To Norway on 8-track cassette. Despite copious amounts of woo pitched by major labels, they decided to release it on Spiral Stairs a.k.a. Scott Kannberg's (Pavement) fledgling indie label Amazing Grease Records. Early shows were frequently played under fake names such as "The Invisible Chocolate Glove" and "The Apricot Yardstick" for no other reason than to confuse fans. By 1999, the band had released 1 CD and 3 singles and were headlining shows in the Bay Area. They recorded The Quiet Vibrationland on their own using a 16-track tape machine once owned by Brian Wilson. QVL also saw the addition of Patrick Main on keyboards. 2000 saw the band hand-picked by Elliott Smith to open his European tour and QVL released in Europe on Creation Records-founder Alan McGee's new Poptones label. By this time, "Eggtooth" - off of Doorway To Norway - was being played at SF Giants games. In 2001 the closing of SF's Downtown Rehearsal evicted Oranger and 499 other bands and subsequently the band spent more time on the road, including another UK Tour as well as some US dates with Guided By Voices. Recorded and mixed by the band in 2002 at their Plymouth Sounds studio in SF, the 11 songs on Shutdown The Sun evoke a stripped-down and raw approach, compared to the baroque chamber psych of 2000s The Quiet Vibrationland. Most of the songs were written on acoustic guitar, and it shows. While the title track does end in an Acid Mothers Temple-style feedback scrawl, tunes like "Tree Bent Gun" and "Othersider" have a Crazy Horse/Muswell-era-Kinks hard-rock/country groove. Preston School of Industry and David Dondero alumnus Chris ?The Texican? Heinrich lends some spaced-out pedal steel on the country-psych "Cut Off Yer Thumbs" and "The Writer (H.F.)," while big-ass guitars and thick harmonies on "Bluest Glass Eye Sea" and "Going Under" keep the bolo tie hidden in the bottom of the sock drawer. Mike and Jims time on the road opening for Wilco (as part of PSOI) rubbed off on the delicate noise-folk textures of "Delivered By Compass" and "Static On The High Desert."

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