December 13, 2007
People from outside Milwaukee who look down their noses at our local talent should dig into this album by the Peder Hedman Quartet. Since the early '80s, these musiciansHedman (guitar, vocals), Tim Taylor (lap steel, 12-string guitar), Steve Whalen (drums, vocals) and Kurt Bauer (bass)have been an ongoing, low-key presence in area bands. With a little luck, this CD will put them above the DIY radar.
The sprawling 15-tune set moves from swirling psychedelic dreamscapes to stomping riff rockers to warped bluegrass. Hedman's lyrical vision ties everything together via imagery borrowed from everyday life ("Just Because You Bug Me Now") and vivid, fever-dream head trips ("I'll Come to Your Funeral If You Come to Mine"). Recorded and engineered by Hedman at the band's home studio, the sound mix blends and melts everything together in the vein of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. Backed with a solid rhythm section, Hedman is free to take excursions on guitar that allow the listener to ride shotgun on these Echoplex journeys. The interplay among band members suggests a relaxed intensity, and Taylor's eerie pedal steel alternately weeps or snakes through the tunes like a ghost making its presence felt before fading 'til next time.
