Reviews
“[A] record of rare riches, of slow-burning underground anthems and transcendental chanting.”
Rock Sound
“‘Stem Stem In Electro’… resonates in a whispered sermon of mortuary bell-peals, baleful psych-prog and numinous vocals and murmuring bows.”
Plan B
“‘Stem Stem In Electro’ is desolate at its core, but its rich musical colours convey a sense of hope.”
The Wire
“Psychedelic 'movements' interspersed with beautifully whispered melodies by [Mike] Moya…make this the perfect album to put on after lights out.”
Spill
“You never get the sense that Moya & Co. are anything but 100% behind what they are doing, conveying every ounce of pain and frustration in patient, measured strokes.”
Junk Media
"From start to finish you are thrown into a world where nothing else matters... The delicacy and elegance that this recording holds should be kept close and dear to your heart."
Living Underground
Rock Sound
“‘Stem Stem In Electro’… resonates in a whispered sermon of mortuary bell-peals, baleful psych-prog and numinous vocals and murmuring bows.”
Plan B
“‘Stem Stem In Electro’ is desolate at its core, but its rich musical colours convey a sense of hope.”
The Wire
“Psychedelic 'movements' interspersed with beautifully whispered melodies by [Mike] Moya…make this the perfect album to put on after lights out.”
Spill
“You never get the sense that Moya & Co. are anything but 100% behind what they are doing, conveying every ounce of pain and frustration in patient, measured strokes.”
Junk Media
"From start to finish you are thrown into a world where nothing else matters... The delicacy and elegance that this recording holds should be kept close and dear to your heart."
Living Underground
 | Ghosts Will Come And Kiss Our EyesHrsta CD / 180gLP / DL |
CST048
 | F#A#∞ [1995-1997]Godspeed You Black Emperor! LP |
CST003
 | "This Is Our Punk-Rock" Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + SingThee SIlver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra CD / 2xLP / DL |
CST027
 | Prince Of TruthEvangelista CD / 180gLP / DL |
CST061
 | Sloppy GroundEric Chenaux CD / 180gLP / DL |
CST052
 | Tiny MirrorsSandro Perri CD / 180gLP / DL |
CST047
Description
Stem Stem In Electro is a gorgeous collection of songs painted in psych-rock tones and timbres, minor-key progressions, and unsettling invocations of haunted transcendentalism. The opening track, with its trance-like group chorus of “we climb to the light”, conjures up a cultish hymn, with Moya’s guitar howls and washes underscoring the disquieting downwards chord structure. This sets the stage for “Blood On The Sun”, a chilling ballad delivered in Moya’s otherworldly voice, like a sedated Daniel Johnson or Wayne Coyne. The trip continues with a delicate instrumental and the tremulous swing of “Folkways Orange”. Side two starts with the album’s centrepiece, “Swallow’s Tail”, where a metallic pulse introduces a spooky, magickal romp, channeling the Canterbury spirit of bands like Caravan and Khan. This nod towards 70’s-era English prog carries through to the end of the album, terminating in the majestic closing instrumental, with more phantasmic group singing as a final send-off. Stem Stem In Electro casts its spell from the opening notes and paints a shadowy, saturated world surveyed alternately from ground level and from on high. Recorded at Montreal’s (original) Hotel2Tango by Howard Bilerman, Moya enlisted Eric Craven (Hangedup) and Harris Newman (solo, Sackville) as his rhythm section, along with Montreal string-playing stalwarts (and fellow Set Fire to Flame cohorts) Beckie Foon, Gen Heistek and Sophie Trudeau.Release date: 2 May 2005 (Europe), 16 May 2005 (rest of world)
Running time: 46:43
Packaging notes
CD xxxxxxxxx xxxxx.LP xxxxxxxxx xxxxx.
Tracklist
1. ...and we climb2. Blood On The Sun
3. Une infinite de trous en forme d'homme
4. Folkways Orange
5. Swallow's Tail
6. Heaven Is Yours
7. Gently Gently
8. Quelque chose a propos des raquetteurs
Credits
PERSONNELMike Moya: guitar, piano, organ, voice
Eric Craven: drums, voice
Gen Heistek: viola, voice
Harris Newman: bass
GUESTS
Beckie Foon: cello, voice
Sophie Trudeau: violin
Recorded and mixed at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal by Howard Bilerman. Mastered by Harris Newman.
