Pseudosix — Days of Delay

Pseudosix caught my eye when I saw that one of the members was Emil Snizek from Grails, the Portland band that revivified my interest in Post-rock (although it would be unfair to corner them into the genre). Pseudosix does not sound much like Grails, but they are almost as interesting.

Main man Tim Perry is described as a “troubadour”. Don’t know whether he actually comes any close to looking like someone from the 13th century, but he sure does pen some incredibly ear-catching, melancholic tracks. Drummer with Grails, Snizek is here a guitarist, and the second vocalist. The drummer is Joe Kelly, who used to play with mathrocker (and Pseudosix’s labelmates) 31 Knots.

What is striking is the –apparent- simplicity of the songs: you never get more than what’s needed. Once the idea is used ion the best way possible, the song ends. This makes for short, catchy songs. Their electrified (well actually it’s a sort of acoustic / electrified guitar duo) folk will remind you of Songs:Ohia or Califone, although Pseudosix have something peculiar about them which makes that they definitely are in a class of their own.

Days of delay is quite a low-profile thing: there is no pretence about it, it’s just music coming from the heart of its players. However, it’s not a happy-go-lucky kind of CD. As I said, there is the melancholy, but there is also some feeling of unease, a tension that hints at an upcoming threat. This threat never quite materializes, but it’s still there somewhere, possibly in the (excellent) lyrics.

Pseudosix are firmly grounded into the folk and Americana traditions: a music that is undoubtedly North American, although it manages to transcend its origin, in order to reach something universal... A striking debut full-length.