Hyperspherian

Epic Majestic 7″
Priapus, 1997

There were only 300 of these babies pressed on Lawrence, Kansas’ Priapus label and it’s about time you heard it. During the mid-1990s, the idea of ‘post-rock’ was quite the hot item with bands like Tortoise, Sea and Cake, Gastr del Sol and others mixing electronic and scholarly elements to sprawling rock compositions. That’s the category Hypershperian seemed to get lumped into, which doesn’t quite fit their freewheeling sound since they weren’t quite as fussy about their songs as some of the headier bands of the era. In fact, they had more of an “out there” vibe you’d find in bands like TFUL 282 or the more grandiose moments of The Flaming Lips and Brian Eno‘s early work, mixing and piling up sounds into a churning sonic stew that pulls you in instead of foisting itself upon you like some of the post-rock groups. The A-side features their best song, “Epic Majestic,” a vintage synth-soaked gem that stumbles along like a lazy stroll on a summer night, loose around the edges and just gnarled and weird enough to make things really interesting. The B-side kicks off with “Activation,” which stacks up nicely to the Stereolab catalog with minimal Moog giving way to waves of warm electronics and an increased density. “Hubris,” the final track, is a sparse indie rock-style duet featuring rolling basslines and electronic piano, which brilliantly culminates into a locked groove. Hyperspherian managed to put out a CD (only “Epic Majestic” from this 7″ appears on it) that doesn’t quite have the magic of this record, but it’s worth a listen if you happen to come across it.

LINKS:

Buy Epic Majestic on Bandcamp

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5 Responses to “Hyperspherian”

  1. bethany Says:

    I am really happy to come across others posting more about this band. Too many good bands just don’t know how to last.

  2. Mike soderling Says:

    Hello this is Mike from Priapus records. Just came
    Across this excellent article. Thank you for posting
    The audio files of this record. Even though I was a partly
    Responsible for putting this record out, I no longer have a
    copy or in my possession. I never made a digital copy of the
    Songs so this listening ended a near 20 year hiatus for me.
    Thank you

  3. Doug Says:

    Awesome, thanks for the note Mike! I believe I first came across Hyperspherian from a promo sent to my old print zine, Zeen, so I probably should thank you for sending it my way all those years ago. It’s still one of my all-time favorite 45s. It’s perfect. Someday I’ll have to gush about the Sun Barrow 7″ too.

  4. Mike soderling Says:

    Doug,

    Bought all of my records back online
    And converted some to digital. More to follow
    Thought I would let you know and ask if I could use you
    Review on the bandcamp site ?

    https://priapus2.bandcamp.com/follow_me

  5. Doug Says:

    Yeah Mike, of course! Happy to help get the word out about this ’90s gem.

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