''Her Wallpaper Reverie'' is the third album from
The Apples in Stereo
The Apples in Stereo, styled as The Apples in stereo, are an American pop/rock band associated with Elephant 6 Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory Sy ...
.
The fifteen tracks listed for the album give the impression that it is about the same length as the band's previous two albums, but only seven of the tracks are "actual" songs. The other eight tracks play a variation of the same melody. These eight tracks are treated as musical interludes and are marked with
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
. Most of these interludes range from ten seconds to a minute in length (with the exception of "vi. Drifting Patterns" which is over two and a half minutes long). The result length is 27 minutes.
Critical response to the album was varied. A common criticism was that the album contained too many interludes. (In fact, there are more musical interludes on the album than there are songs.)
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
, for instance, stated that many of these interludes were "annoying
The
psychedelic music, psychedelic production of the album led critics to make comparisons to popular albums by
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
.
Track listing
All tracks written by
Robert Schneider
Robert Peter Schneider (born March 9, 1971) is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk Ho ...
except where noted.
#"i. Her Room is a Rainy Garden (Wallpaper Reverie Theme)" – 0:11
#"ii. Morning Breaks (and Roosters Complain)" – 0:21
#"The Shiney Sea" – 3:40
#"iii. The Significance of a Floral Print" – 0:37
#"Strawberryfire" – 4:27
#"iv. From Outside, in Floats a Music Box" – 1:00
#"Ruby" – 3:08
#"v. She Looks Through Empty Windows" – 0:14
#"Questions and Answers" (
Hilarie Sidney
Hilarie Sidney is an American musician best known as the longtime drummer for The Apples in Stereo. She was previously married to Robert Schneider, the band's frontman and Elephant 6 co-founder. Their divorce was announced in 2004. She was ha ...
) – 2:53
#"vi. Drifting Patterns" – 2:44
#"Y2K" – 2:23
#"vii. Les Amants" – 0:33
#"Benefits of Lying (with Your Friend)" – 3:35
#"Ruby, Tell Me" – 1:00
#"viii. Together They Dream Into the Evening" – 0:14
Alternate release bonus tracks
The Australian and Japanese versions of ''Her Wallpaper Reverie'' contain five bonus tracks. The first four were later released on the ''
Look Away + 4
''Look Away + 4'' is the third EP from The Apples in Stereo. It contains five songs, featuring the song "Look Away" from the album ''The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone''. The other four songs were previously featured on the Japanese versi ...
'' EP.
*"Behind the Waterfall"
*"Everybody Let Up"
*"Her Pretty Face"
*"The Friar's Lament"
*"Extended Introduction"
In addition, both the Australian and Japanese editions have different color schemes for the album artwork, Japan's being blue and yellow, Australia's being orange and red. There is also an alternate UK cover that is pink and green.
Personnel
"The Orchestra"
*
John Hill John Hill may refer to:
Business
* John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary
* John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter
* John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...
- electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, handclaps, tape manipulation
*
Hilarie Sidney
Hilarie Sidney is an American musician best known as the longtime drummer for The Apples in Stereo. She was previously married to Robert Schneider, the band's frontman and Elephant 6 co-founder. Their divorce was announced in 2004. She was ha ...
- drums, lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, percussion
*
Eric Allen
Eric Andre Allen (born November 22, 1965) is an American football coach and former cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, and Oakland Raiders from 1988 to 2001. A six-time ...
- electric bass, backing vocals, tape loops, handclaps
*
Chris McDuffie
Chris McDuffie is an American musician. A keyboardist, he performed with the Elephant 6 band The Minders and appeared on their 1996 debut EP ''Come On and Hear''. McDuffie later became a member of The Apples in Stereo, first appearing on the alb ...
- organ, upright piano, synthesizer, backing vocals, percussion, clipclops, clavinet
*
Robert Schneider
Robert Peter Schneider (born March 9, 1971) is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk Ho ...
- electric and acoustic guitars, lead and backing vocals, upright and toy pianos, synthesizer, percussion
"Supporting Players"
*Rick Benjamin - trombone
*Merisa Bissinger - saxophone
*Scott Spillane - flugelhorn
*Josh Johnson - backing vocals, handclaps
*
Tammy Ealom - backing vocals, handclaps
*
Jim McIntyre - backing vocals, handclaps
Production
''Her Wallpaper Reverie'' was produced and mixed by Robert Schneider and engineered by the Apples in Stereo. Jim McIntyre acted as executive producer. The album was recorded and mixed at Pet Sounds Recording Studio,
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
from January to March, 1999 (with the exception of "Morning Breaks" and "Benefits of Lying", which were recorded during 1997).
Artwork for the album was created by
William Cullen Hart, with layout by Joel Marowitz.
References
{{Authority control
The Apples in Stereo albums
1999 albums
SpinART Records albums
The Elephant 6 Recording Company albums