Schizophonic! is an album by the American lounge band Combustible Edison, released in 1996.[8][9]

Schizophonic!
Studio album by
Released1996
GenreLounge
LabelSub Pop
ProducerCombustible Edison, Brian Capouch
Combustible Edison chronology
Four Rooms: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1995)
Schizophonic!
(1996)
The Impossible World
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Los Angeles Times[3]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[4]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
The Tampa Tribune[6]
Waikato Times[7]

Production

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The album was produced by the band and Brian Capouch.[4] All five band members contributed to the songwriting.[10] "Morticia" is a cover of the Addams Family tune, composed by Vic Mizzy.[11] The recording of the album was delayed by more than a year in order for Combustible Edison to work on the soundtrack to Four Rooms.[12]

Critical reception

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CMJ New Music Monthly deemed the album "a musical pastiche, but just as suave and easy to listen to as its precursors."[11] Trouser Press thought that "having painted itself into a stylistic corner, Combustible Edison seems content to simply stand around and watch that paint dry."[13] The Los Angeles Times opined that "perhaps the optimal (and only) way to appreciate it is with a luridly exotic drink in hand and a steady conversational buzz in the foreground."[3] The Waikato Times wrote that "Combustible Edison are more bizarre than banal."[7] The Orlando Sentinel declared that Schizophonic! "has a haunting quality reminiscent of Fellini film scores by the late Nino Rota"; the paper also picked it as one of the 10 best albums of 1996.[14][15]

AllMusic wrote that "there's some melancholia and weariness to the torch vocal-influenced numbers in particular, which betrays an ironic, modernist bent absent from first-generation cocktail/lounge."[1] (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide called the album "entirely uninspired, and unnecessary in a world where Martin Denny records can be found at garage sales."[5]

Track listing

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  1. Alright, Already
  2. Bluebeard
  3. The Checkered Flag
  4. One Eyed Monkey
  5. Solid State
  6. Les Yeux Sans Visage
  7. '52'
  8. Short Double Latté
  9. Mudhead
  10. Morticia
  11. Objet D'Amour
  12. The Corner Table
  13. Lonelyville

References

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  1. ^ a b "Schizophonic - Combustible Edison | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 499.
  3. ^ a b Hochman, Steve (3 Mar 1996). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. p. 67.
  4. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 262.
  5. ^ a b (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 186.
  6. ^ Ross, Curtis (April 19, 1996). "COMBUSTIBLE EDISON, Schizophonic (Sub Pop)". The Tampa Tribune. Friday Extra!. p. 23.
  7. ^ a b Anso, Martin (9 July 1996). "COMBUSTIBLE EDISON Schizophonic". Waikato Times. Features. p. 13.
  8. ^ "Combustible Edison | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  9. ^ "The Smooth Sounds of Combustible Edison". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021.
  10. ^ Jordan, Chris (29 Mar 1996). "MUSIC TO SIP MARTOONIS TO: FOLLOWING IN DINO'S FOOTSTEPS". The Record. Lifestyle. p. 32.
  11. ^ a b MacDonald, Heidi (Apr 1996). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly (32): 30.
  12. ^ Tyer, Brad (November 14, 1996). "Loungette - Combustible Edison makes the listening easy -- with a straight face". Houston Press. Music.
  13. ^ "Combustible Edison". Trouser Press. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  14. ^ Gettelman, Parry (15 Nov 1996). "COMBUSTIBLE EDISON PLAYS IT COOL: LOUNGE MUSIC SLINKS ITS WAY INTO O-TOWN". Orlando Sentinel. Calendar. p. 7.
  15. ^ Gettelman, Parry (29 Dec 1996). "IT'S HARD TO PICK JUST 10 BEST FOR '96". Orlando Sentinel. p. G9.
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