Release Date: October 31st, 2011
Dream up an album full of cloud-surfing, hazy sunsets and calming waves crashing in a dulled sequence. Imagine an artistic collage of vibrant colors bleeding together in a hypnotic trip—not necessarily in a drug-induced sense, but in a manner of mindful hallucination. It’s a journey of the mind created to simply get away from it all.
Rangers’ latest album, Pan Am Stories, is a dream like this one. It’s a collection of sounds from left to right, front and back and twirled inside-out. Sound bites are woven together to make a song of indifferent moods and unbalanced thoughts.
One-man outfit Joe Knight creates a collection of lo-fi tunes with just enough distortion to think there might be something wrong with the audio. In 2009, Knight released Low Cut Fades on cassette, filled with psychedelic guitar riffs equally matched by melodies likely to be found in a cheesy, 1980s thriller. His vintage-tinged tunes are perfectly suited for a Casio boom box and acid-washed jeans.
Since then, Knight has taken his nostalgic tunes and given them a modern spin. The effervescent road-trip anthems now have garage-rock guitar licks for a more universal flavor without demeaning his prior grimy, cassette-bound manner.
A Texas native and current San Francisco resident, Knight is a mysterious character. Revealing his certainly fuzzy vocals only sporadically, it’s hard to decipher his persona.
Pan Am Stories is a steady progression from below sea level to outer space. Beginning with gurgled notes in “Zombies (Day)” and ending with spacious guitar riffs in “Bad Flan,” Rangers spans the theme of travel on a different level.
The grumbled, chill-wave “Zombies (Day)” is not the usual undead anthem expected. It’s bubbly, as though those flesh-eating-but-endlessly-addictive creatures aren’t so terrifying. Bouncy melodies dance around electro-pop beats with a heavily processed glaze. Yet the counter, “Zombies (Night)” is more organically produced with guitar and cymbals rattling in a dreamy texture bound by echoed vocals. Although merely understandable, these vocals are the most distinguished in the album.
Reaching 13-and-a-half minutes, “Zeke’s Dream” is a bedroom pop fantasy. Like a real dream, bits and pieces are sown together without distinct transition or reason. The settings are distinct, but the transportation is unmemorable. Love-struck beats turn into extraterrestrial melodies then into atmospheric tones before quickly evaporating into a choppy abyss.
Reaching the full pop-potential, “Luncheon Ghana” is configured with sensible riffs and head-bobbing beats. It’s a mellow surf-rock jam with subtle psychedelic circles and minimal contortion.
Knight takes storytelling into a world of mangled vocals and tattered instrumentals in Pan Am Stories, yet the product in its entirety is relatable. Just when the album is seemingly over and “Bad Flan” is nearing the five-minute mark, Rangers quickly reappears in a full-circle attempt. Manipulated, layered and heavily processed tones come back for one last glazed hoorah in all their dreamy, fluffy glory.
Rangers – Pan Am Stories tracklist:
- “Zombies (Day)”
- “Zeke’s Dream”
- “Sacred Cows”
- “John Is the Last of a Dying Breed”
- “Bronze Casket”
- “Jane’s Well”
- “Zombies (Night)”
- “Luncheon Ghana”
- “Khyber Pass”
- “Podunk Baal”
- “Conversations on the Jet Stream”
- “The Mule”
- “Bad Flan”
