CREEPER LAGOON | TAKE BACK THE UNIVERSE AND GIVE ME YESTERDAY
The hidden gem of all hidden gems comes to us from a little known San Fransisco band with a short-lived and under appreciated career.
From start to finish Take Back The Universe And Give Me Yesterday is a perfect album. It feels like late August afternoons dripping with sunlight and sun-parched landscapes lush and hot. It’s quintessentially a summer vibe record capturing every possible emotion the season can muser up into one concentrated hour of rock.
How this album sailed completely under the radar to critics is one of the greatest mysteries in music. Those who know the album strongly praise it for being so blissfully melancholic, and there are a few fans out there who still consider this to be their favourite works of all time. Strangely enough the vast majority of people are unfamiliar with it. Every track is so richly emotional and sonically engaging that the album lives up to the hype of its name.
“Chance Of A Lifetime” introduces the album with a powerfully unforgettable chorus, so seemingly simple yet containing life-affirming energy in every cell of its DNA. It’s the perfect example of the level of magic the band are playing with. There are no real lamenting moments, no self-deprecation, no life-changing lyrical themes. It’s a big pop rock record at heart, but somehow flavoured with an umami of emotive depth.
“Sunfair” sparkles like glistening sunlight on the sea, while “Up All Night” and “Naked Days” drop candy-coated melody after melody for the ears. The second half of the album is where things begin to take shape. It starts to become positivity distracting as to how a band could pack so many solid melodies into one album as the songs blur together. You can feel the summer breeze past your face on “Dead Man Saloon” as its opening guitars gust past like tumbleweed. As the drums come in and the guitars kick up dust, we’re once again soaring through balmy skies and endless days.
The album climaxes on “Hey Sister”‘s post-chorus when singer Ian Sefchick croons the words “late fall afternoon, I pay for a room, I saw her and froze, her name’s apple rose, Rose brought me to bleed, I couldn’t believe, dazzling scenes, passed out in dreams.” The lavish major 7th guitar chords wash over the singer and create the sensation of a garden bursting open into full bloom.
“Keep From Moving” falls into place towards the end of the album as a monument to the entire opus. Sefchick’s vocal power is one of the album’s greatest assets. He belts out choruses with an air of confidence and robustness and everything he sings gets spun to pure gold. Sharky Laguana’s sixteenth note guitar interlude towards the end of the track creates a counter rhythm to the half-time groove, which doesn’t last for long as the drums surge into double time to take the song home. Laguana takes over vocal duties on “Lover’s Leap” giving the album new flavour in his Bowie-esque quiver. As the two mainstays of the band it’s clear how much chemistry these gentlemen have.
The final song “Here We Are” boasts one of the albums best verse melodies, pulling at heart strings over sad piano plunks and the words “as the summer days grow long, take my hand you are lost.” It’s the perfect anticipation to the pinkish-orange sunset that awaits and the starlit sky that will soon reveal itself.
Take Back The Universe never reaches for experimentation, arena-filling singles, or trendy production tricks. It’s not trying to be anything it’s not, and perhaps that’s why it was largely mulled over. It’s still a basic and simple rock album at it’s core. What makes it special is the potency within every element, like a simple dish that doesn’t need any culinary overkill to wow people. Its direct relationship to summer cannot be overstated lyrically and sonically. The album feels like its found a way to bottle up solar flares like champagne, waiting to be popped high into the humid atmosphere.
The Sunfair
1.5 oz sloe gin
1.5 oz southern comfort
1.5 oz amaretto
4 oz orange juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1 tbl granadine
*Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a highball glass with fresh ice. Garnish with orange peel and a cherry.
Alternate Recipe
3 oz Lemonade
3 oz White Wine
*Fill glass with ice, pour in ingredients and stir. As inspired by the lyrics.