New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Feeling nostalgic for some late 60's inspired, slightly psychedelic, retro-rock? Austin's Burgess Meredith has your fix, with their new album A Dimension of Sound out today. It premiered on Ovrld who described it as a "standout, with impeccable songwriting and arrangements and a never ending supply of infectious hooks.". Combining the playful quirks of Harry Nilsson and The Kinks, with the acid washed melodies of Dr. Dog, the band has clearly done their research and have brilliantly honed-in on a classic sound.
The band name is an homage to the late great actor, whose accomplished career included the narration of Twilight Zone's show introduction. Delving deeper, this connection provided a direct inspiration for the band's album title. Vocalist Josh King explains, "During the recording process we knew that we'd be diving into some psychedelic territory so all the while we were tossing around silly titles and trying to come up with the right fit. Nothing was sticking honestly so anytime we needed inspiration, we'd go to our namesake and watch film and listen to things. It's a blast because Burgess Meredith did so many cool things! While rewatching some Twilight Zone episodes I noticed that beginning narration more significantly, "you unlock this door with a key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight..." That phrase "A Dimension of Sound" just jumped out. I went and checked the actual Twilight Zone movie version immediately after to see if it was the same. Burgess Meredith actually narrates that version too. Then listening along and hearing Burgess himself say the phrase... it seemed perfect. Everyone sort of just knew, yeah that's the one."
One of the standout tracks on the album is "When We Were Born". King described it as a natural single. "A lot of the record is about anxiety for me and breaking the cycle of negative thinking that I can sometimes fall into. I wanted "When We Were Born" to be a positive message specifically. That's where the idea to reinforce the positive message with a strong choral arrangement came from - we completely love the sonic quality of a kids chorus." We called upon Jesse Hester's son Eli to come record some vocal parts. "Eli had a blast and just has a killer ear and musical chops already. He was twelve when he sang his parts on this album. I demo'd out a part I thought might work for him and when he came in to track his parts, he actually added a really nice harmony as well. We recorded a few voices of him singing the arrangement and then all of our significant others came in to add one final choral voice. For me, "When We Were Born" seems to encapsulate that nostalgic feel of a holiday choir, be the positive reinforcement I wanted it to be, but all sort of in the vein of a Traveling Wilburys or Beatles rock n' roll aesthetic."
A Dimension of Sound is available for purchase now on Bandcamp and will be available for sale on CD and vinyl format soon. Join the band for their album release show tomorrow, November 18, at Austin's Hole In the Wall with A. Sinclair!
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