THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Joe Byrd fell in love with oscillators about the time Silver Apples was busy cutting their self titled, and put a band together to explore the possibilities that they could open up. Mainly, he wanted to see what various instruments and voices would sound like having been sent through an oscillator, though he also experimented with making new sounds with them. Working within a highly psychedelic and progressive context, the band cut their own self titled, a wonderful part of the early prog and early electronic canons. The opener "American Metaphysical Circus" shows off Byrd's vision at its fullest and best: various tunes are sampled, to lead into a surreal main song with Moskowitz's vocals oscillated to an alien degree. Electronic sounds come in and out, and some quiet drums lead to way. Going on, the band plays some psych prog with the continued use of oscillators for sounds and effects. The band plays well, and the oscillators are put to good use. This isn't to the standards set by the opener, but it still is a unique and fine sound. In particular Moskowitz's singing remains top notch through the whole record. In the end, this is a one of a kind piece of experimental history, more than worth a listen even with its drawbacks.