Using truly underground recording methods such as obsolete effects pedals, gardening implements, slow speed tape dubs and a wide array of odd gadgets as their arsenal, super 5 thor sets out to throw a warm blanket over the listener, luring them into that beautiful numb part of the unconscious that makes the knots go away in the back of your neck or causes you to miss your exit on the freeway as you drive in a trance through the dark at 3:30 a.m.
Eerie vocals plow along, bending around sub-sonic guitar washes, lazy drums and a specter-like bass, uniquely mixed with sparse, affected production to create the band's other-worldly sounds.
Retaining the blur of inspiration, first take run-throughs are often used as a skeleton track to build songs on. Stripped down to the simple root of their seductive melody with honest lyrics telling of the road less traveled, super 5 thor formed as a creative outlet for a group of musicians who felt stifled by the current trend of homogenized alternative music and who strive for a more avant-garde form of realism in their songwriting and design.
Like taking a late night ride just for kicks down a thick, slowly flowing freeway that sucks you down under tow, super 5 thor is the last ultra-violet haze off a street light humming by the corner of your eye.
I play this tape to remind myself why I got into the music business. It reassures me that the universe is in it's normal order. Super 5 Thor delivers beauty and reflects pain in equal doses. At first I wanted to keep it all to myself, like a secret weapon, but it's just too good not to share. (Tricia Halloran, Brave New World: KCRW 89.9)
Fans of VU, the Feelies, and especially Luna may have found their more-than-worthy successor. The quiet, almost hushed vocals combine with a melting guitar slide a la Dean Wareham and Tom Verlaine. It's only a matter of time before this hell of a driving soundtrack for young urbanites churns in your head. (Joshua Mills Strobe Magazine June/July 1996)
What is this??!!! I fucking love it! (Kramer via e-mail)
A must for all those Galaxy 500/Luna fans. Slow somber rhythms that glide easily with stunningly desperate lyrics. "Breathe" is both beautiful and weary. The lyrics conjure images of a lover who's been stabbed in the back seven times."Why did you lead me on/why did you forget me/why did you tell me/over and over/don't forget to breathe." An eerie subsonic guitar washes back and forth throughout, adding a certain uniqueness to their sound. Anyone who appreciates the brilliance of the Velvet Underground is likely to find Super 5 Thor an amazing find. It's perfect music for the road on a long ride to nowhere. (WH Carbon 14 July '96)
What do you do when it's raining hard on a Sunday morning? Put a few more logs on the fire, make some mulled wine, and put on Super 5 Thor. Taking a cue from Spiritualized and VU, they drift gently through a musical wonderland, not quite Valium rock, and not stoner music, but...calm. Floating on a zephyr of easiness, nothing complicated. This is music for soothing fevers and assuaging the winds of distress. Their album "Ford" is like a sleeping child's face: pure innocence and grace. It conjures up memories of neon nights, strolling along the concrete avenue, a light breeze blowing. Alone, not caring, chin lifted to the night, a brief smile playing about the lips of the moon. A night for white wine, legs dangling over balcony railings, smirking at the stars. Songs that will make you recline on the couch, loosen the buttons on your shirt and sip slowly from your coffee mug, melting into the music, the timeless, sonorous feelings of security and comfort. Subtlety, that's it. The subtlety of morning's light, the first gracing of the world by cosmic rays. Super 5 Thor brushes against the sonic canvas with a glancing stroke, gracing us with tranquility and soft beauty. (Clarendon Lavorich Lollipop June/July '96)
The dense guitar haze that envelopes Super 5 Thor's elegantly depleted songs seems to function as part security blanket, part sinister shroud, as evidenced by the quartet's mesmerizing debut, Ford. There are nods to fellow travelers like the Jesus & Mary Chain ("Superstar") and Low ("Dyed Mary"), but Scott Oliver's cloudy-but-eloquent lyrics and insinuating whisper furnish a singularly effective landing pad for descents of both the psychological and pharmaceutical variety. Far from being mere voluntary slowcore exiles, Super 5 Thor function as guerrillas in the mist. (Request May 1996)
Super 5 Thor's debut "Ford" takes us down a foggy path of dreamy, surreal soundscapes. Undulant vocals usher us along atop whooshy, effects-laden guitars, never hurrying the experience or the mood. Why doesn't everyone make music this lovely? (Lorry Fleming Music Universe)
The Space side's "Superstar" is a brilliant example of Super 5 Thor's delicate Velvet Underground-meets-The Jesus and May Chain brand of rock. Sparse, vibrato-tinged, and soaring guitars and drugged-out vocals that the Reid brothers can be envious of are backed up by simple, steady drumming. "Lonesome" is not nearly as remarkable as its Space side compatriot. On the Echo side, more of the blissed-out haze with "Drive" not quite matching the silent power of "Blue." Good, very good. (cmc Grid Magazine May 1996)
Pretend it's 1990. Most "floating" clubs (the kind that occur once a month in old, condemned hotels) are devoted entirely to the music of the Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and Rockets, and the Velvet Underground. While a band called Galaxie 500 flails in the college charts, Super 5 Thor has already conquered the modern-rock stations. In heavy rotation are three superb tracks from FORD, featuring the sinewy vocals of Scott: "Lonesome," a two-chord lullaby with a bass line as thick as rope: "Dyed Mary," a tender ballad of post-punkers in love, and "America's Son," the kind of song that makes weeping so pleasureable. But it's not 1990. Bush rules the airwaves now, and the heroin-rock slot on most stations is filled by the Cowboy Junkies and Mazzy Star. Will Super 5 Thor get the recognition it deserves? Only time will tell. (East Bay Express June 96)
If you've ever driven down a deserted desert highway at twilight, feeling so fatigued that you're numb and so exhausted that you're giddy, you know exactly what it's like to experience Super 5 Thor's "Ford". Super 5 Thor sinks deep into your skull and tickles the part of your brain that you're only aware of after missing two consecutive nights of sleep. Combining spacey psychedelic guitar chords and sluggish, murmured vocals with poppy song structures that trudge toward that mystical point where the road meets the sky, the quartet carries the torch of its mentors proudly, sounding surprisingly fresh and new. The hypnotic vibrations of "Superstar", "Breath", and the aptly titled, "Tired" are the high points of a disk that simmers contentedly on a far back burner with no intention of ever breaking into a boil. A beautiful cohesive collection of songs that clocks in under 40 minutes, yet seems much, much longer. "Ford" is the perfect soundtrack for overcast days when mental capacities have maxed out in second gear. (CMJ – Jackpot! April ’96)
Tubeless Ignition EP. These four songs wear their influence tattooed all over their sleeves. We’re talking the morosely honeyed balladic vein of the Jesus & Mary Chain channeled through Lou’s "Sunday Morning" vibe. Super 5 Thor’s deliquescent bliss pop may be derivative but the execution is impeccable. And it's better to worship the Mary Chain than grunge's status woe lineage any day. (Alternative Press June '96)
With obvious debts owed to Spiritualized (heavy and ambient) and the Jesus And Mary Chain (soft and surf), Super 5 Thor is still original enough to make me eagerly await a full-length. In fact, one of the four songs here is brilliant; the elasticated slow-motion guitar/bass thrum and subtle Beach Boysian vocal harmonies of "Lonesome" convey its title so perfectly I want to hear it over and over again during my private moments. (MAGNET April/May '96)
Somewhat droning, airy, psychedelic, acid-drenched pop music that comes off like a breath of fresh air amidst the continuing onslaught of "alternative bands" with no real talent or songwriting skills. After hearing this band, I can honestly recommend that you pick up just about ANYTHING with the Echostatic/Space Baby label on it. . . .I highly recommend this CD to folks into heady, surreal pop. This is just like having a good dream . . . Maybe BETTER, Ah . . . (BabySue January-February 1996)
Thanks, You ROCK!!! Getting the word out about my photo book, Metallica: The Club Dayz.. It's available though Amazon world wide. Amazon dot com Cheers Bill (Former Chief Photographer of Metal Rendezvous Int. Heavy Rock - Metal Magazine)
How are you, Super 5 Thor? Haven't checked in on you lately, so I swung by to wish you a happy October & hope you are feeling well! Listen, I have another track up on my page, "Attack Of The Mushroom People." You can Hear it right Now, if you'd like at: www.myspace.com/psychedelicpablo adios for now! Pablo
Hem pujat una nova cançó. “Yo sé” Visita’ns i escolta-la! I Després ens dius que t’ha semblat! Hemos subido una canción nueva. “Yo sé” Visítanos y escúchala! Y luego nos dices que te ha parecido! We uploaded a new song. “Yo sé” Visit us and listen it! And then tell us what you think about it!
my pleasure...and please please give them a spin...consider it a another good deed...you made my day. can't wait for new material from you folks thanks Brian
Songs. Where are your songs? Not on your websites! At any rate, you've got to be wonderful people with Ana D as a friend, and Spacebaby records being your label. The wonderful Eleni Mandell has recorded for them. We thank Super 5 Thor (Scott & Manny & Ronny & Alisa) for the kind invite. Richard, Earthlings - mostly thumbs...
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