My Top 1000 Songs #963: Hideaway

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

The first time I heard Olivia Tremor Control's 1996 long-playing debut Dusk At Cubist Castle, I was blown away, and its impact has barely diminished over time. One of the core bands of the Elephant 6 collective, they explored late 60s psychedelic pop, with the feel of a few guys with a home studio trying to push the boundaries with a limited budget but unlimited imagination.

I didn't get quite as obsessive about the 1999 follow-up, Black Foliage, which, sadly, turned out to be their last (though the band's two frontmen had some decent follow-up projects, which one could cobble together into a pseudo-final OTC album). But Black Foliage is at least as good as Cubist Castle--the recording is more accomplished, and some of the songs are much stronger as stand-alone pieces (though the album is woven together with loads of strange, experimental musical interludes which I've always found detracted from the work, and I ended up making a far superior songs-only version).

I find it hard to land on a favorite from the LP, but "Hideaway" is pretty great. It's got the retro-psych vibe of most of their work, a bit reminiscent of The Zombies with flashes of George Harrison, bolstered by baroque touches full of horns and harmonies (complete with Beach Boys-styled a capella breakdown); but is straightforwardly melodic enough to feel capable of standing as an alternate-universe classic rock track or at the very least a sturdy mixtape contribution.

Live 2012: