Silver Apples – SILVER APPLES*

Oscillations/Seagreen Serenades/Lovefingers/Program/Velvet Cave/Whirly Bird/Dust/Dancing Gods/Misty Mountain

Self titled debut album from the New York electronic duo Silver Apples. Their sound relied on polyrhythmic drumming on a large tuned drum kit, driven by an early form of synthesizer, known as an oscillator. (US:193)

“I've always maintained that by the end of the 1960s all music that would spring up as popular in the future already existed or was in the making. The decade between 1959 and 1969 was a lightning-fast renaissance where music progressed by leaps and bounds seemingly overnight. In the late 80s and 90s there was a lot of electronic music. And although this kind of music seemed new at the time, you need look no further than 1968's Silver Apples' self-titled debut to see where it had sprung to life seemingly out of nowhere.”

“This album is often named as one of the first electronic albums, which is a somewhat misleading claim since it would be more appropriate to call it one of the first rock albums to use electronic instruments. It resembles a weird psychedelic album with some repetitive, droney electronic sections. It doesn't really work, and sounds incredible dated nowadays, but is worth a listen for its historical importance.”

“What may have been considered avant-garde back in 1968 sadly has no such effect today. A cult band that would later show that they were far ahead of their times, but is now nothing but a worn down fossil that isn't very enjoyable.”

“Here is one of the earliest examples of a full on electronic album with throbbing beats and all. Today the concept may sound familiar but that’s only because countless acts have employed the same techniques and ideas.”

“Certainly a very interesting example of early experimental electronic music but not to my taste at all. The rhythms and beats here just sound too much monosonic and get on my nerves after a short while.”

“Their electronic psych rock just doesn't bite well enough. The album has some clear experimental rock influences but the songs repeat themselves too much all the way through. Seems that these guys concentrated on creating a certain atmosphere with simple rhythms. I'm not saying this is rubbish, just a mediocre album.”