This past weekend while flipping through records at Academy I came across Sore Eros‘ Second Chants LP.  I read that it was the project of Robert Robinson who has played in the past with Ariel Pink, and these days that alone has been a pretty good indicator that it’s going to be a good record, but I knew very little about the release itself.  Upon looking at the back of the LP jacket I found out that Gary War, Kurt Vile, as well as many others contributed to the record.  At $12 for the LP I couldn’t pass it up.

This is another limited edition LP from SHDWPLY Records.  Only 500 copies made on 180 gram vinyl.

I first listened to this record on a breezy Saturday.  It is like the best hazy daydream on a spring or summer afternoon you could possibly have…full of fuzzy stoner psychedelic pop infused with just a hint of folk. Sore Eros slow down time, and fully engage your mind.  I have been taken aback by this record, and can’t believe I haven’t read more about it. A truly impressive first release.

According to SHDWPLY today (May 15th) is the release date (but it has been floating around on record store shelves for at least a week).

SHDWPLY is overall a really impressive label so far…Gary War’s first LP has quickly become a favorite of mine, and Sore Eros seems to be following in that tradition.

Raven Sings the Blues have a couple tracks that you can check out (listen to them streaming here) or download them here:

[mp3] Sore Eros- “Smile on Your Face”

[mp3] Sore Eros- “Whisper Me”

Both tracks off of Second Chants

UPDATE! Buy it directly from Sore Eros here.

Buy It from Insound here.  I don’t totally trust them with limited edition records (see these comments), and I bet SHDWPLY will have it for sale here soon.

Here is the video for “Over and Over” (also on Second Chants)

Oh and if I don’t convince you check out what WIRE Magazine had to say:

“Robinson’s vocals have [a] high, lunar quality…but the way they’re recorded often makes them seem as if they’re being broadcast from the apartment next door, dislocated by time and space and smeared with heroic levels of FX. The song structures reference classic psych forms – most specifically the freakbeat sound of early Pink Floyd and the roaming bass/drums style of The Red Krayola’s first LP – while at the same time avoiding anything that might make them sound like period-piece revivalists. As the album progresses, the form becomes looser and more abstract, with outer structures falling away to reveal sidereal aspects more commonly experienced in altered states or subliminal settings: the sound of a car stereo tracking down the street; late-night pop radio in the trance before sleep. Sore Eros redeem 80s pop modes by conflating them with ‘canonical’ teenage forms, re-configuring psychedelic pop via refracted autobiography. The result is one of the most original psych/pop records of the year.” – WIRE Magazine, May 2009

In other words you should really check this out.