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They Only Believe In The Moon [remixed / remastered]

by Sciflyer

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of They Only Believe In The Moon [remixed / remastered] via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of They Only Believe In The Moon [remixed / remastered] via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    edition of 100 

      $9 USD

     

  • Streaming + Download

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The original 2014 version of TOBITM on CD in a Digipak case at a clearance price!

    Includes unlimited streaming of They Only Believe In The Moon [remixed / remastered] via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
Creator 09:00
you know that I know how you thought me down…you know that I know how you brought me down…I’m selling it all for a pound and spending it all over town and you know that I know how you thought me down…you know that I saw how you stole my mind…you know I recall how you stole my mind…this world was the best we could find…it’s been happening time after time and you know I recall how you stole my mind…and everywhere you are, you break up like a falling star, you’ve taken this too far / you’re makin’ this too hard
2.
Goddess 06:56
let me tell you ‘bout her, she’s a strange kind of girl…made me look at myself…take a look at myself…I’ll just say what I know, she’s a strange kind of show…she made me question myself…how do I answer myself? I’ll just say what I am, I’m a strange kind of man…no, I don’t care for the ballgame…it don’t concern me at all…who’s to say where we are? around a strange kind of star…they used to worship the sun, man…back when the angels came down… let me tell you ‘bout her, she’s a strange kind of girl…made me look at myself…take a look at myself…I’ll just say what I know, she has a strange kind of glow, then I remember myself…I had forgotten myself…I’ll just say what I am, I’m a strange kind of man, but can you follow me now? do you follow me now? hard to say where we are, it’s like a strange kind of car…and the driver’s gone crazy…yeah the driver’s gone mad...and we fall until time slows down and we’re all in the know…yeah we fall until time winds down and we’re all in the now…I’ll just say what I am, I’m a strange kind of man, but can you follow me now? do you follow me now? hard to say what we are, we’re like a strange kind of scar…but can you follow me down, man? will you follow me down?
3.
Slowfire 05:55
there’s a slow fire coming straight for your harddrive…truth comes down and you see you’re a slave…and you’re so tired ‘cuz it’s taking forever and your mind’s been erased…like a slow fire burning right up your brainstem…I wake up and now nothing is real…and you’re so tired, you’ve been stuck here forever…how does that feel? you’re in the fire (2x)…it’s all around you…you never notice there’s a hard wire jacking into your heart strings…tunes your set into the eye of the storm, where the slow fire has been burning forever…keeping you warm…now your whole world goes collapsing upon you…it’s okay because we’re floating in space…and you’re so tired, you’ve been waiting forever to be out of this place...you’re in the fire (2x)…it’s all around you…you never know
4.
The Nation 04:22
the last thing anyone really needs is another rock & roll song…we all could get over ourselves and be nice to each other…whichever comes first…and the last thing anyone needs to see is another carnival show…we’re known as a nation of voyeurs, just waiting for someone to be hurt or something much worse…(practice makes perfect) and how we practice to deceive, it’s become so run-of-the-mill…we’re known as a nation of liars (nation is gone) who get what they want, don’t care who we gotta kill…(I won’t let you) so please don’t let yourselves believe in another magical pill…’cuz ya know that we all have this problem…we all have these empty spaces we’re tryin’ to fill…you’re not alone (2x)…it’s the last thing anyone really needs
5.
this walk on the waters is testing my mettle…it looked good on paper…the temperature’s rising…the stars are exploding…the dream turns to vapor…I tried on the armor…it weighed on my conscience and bested my patience…with all of these creatures in so many dimensions and too much variation…we thought we could work this, but something’s not working…I thought I was clever…and I’m really sorry that I bothered to come and that it took me forever…so down for the aging, I’m keeping my distance…it’s just like I told ya…that all of this matter may not be what you wanted but it’s so close to over…atoms wake up (2x)…I can’t wake up…atoms break up Intro by Frank. (from "Donnie Darko", c2001 Pandora Cinema)
6.
Zzyzx 06:06
35.1431° N, 116.1042° W
7.

about

Sciflyer was on an upward trajectory in the mid-2000’s - a critically acclaimed (and CMJ Top 200) debut in 2003, a whirlwind US tour behind it and then another critic’s choice with their follow up EP in 2005...and then SXSW in 2006. Things were moving along...

That same year, they went into a real 24-track professional studio for the first time in their career (instead of recording mostly at home or partially in friends’ “studios”) to start work on their magnum opus, They Only Believe In The Moon. Some tracks were recorded with then drummer, Scott Christy, but when he left mid-sessions in late ‘06, they were joined by former LSD & The Search For God drummer, Scott Eberhardt, and completed the rest of the recordings in early 2007.

Anyone familiar with the story to this point knows that’s when they started losing altitude. Personal issues between (then married couple) Steven Kennedy and founding member/bassist, Kim Oberly...and then the Great Recession. The band canceled a planned Pacific Northwest tour, took the summer of ‘07 off, and tried to pull it together for some rehearsals with Eberhardt near the end of the year. They actually lasted into early 2008, but the strains were too much and too many, and they officially called it quits before the Spring. The album was officially shelved as well. The master tapes sat in storage, unmixed...tails out, of course.

Fast forward to 2014 as the shoegaze revival was starting up. Kennedy says the unfinished production gnawed gently at him for the seven years in between, but it was the revival that put a finer point on it, so he finally took a headfirst dive into the tracks for the first time since abandoning them in 2008. The album was completed and released by Clairecords in 2014 on CD and digital only. Even after being MIA for seven years, the album garnered rave reviews from Big Takeover, Dagger, Somewhere Cold, TBTCI, and others!

Since then however, ever the perfectionist, Kennedy always felt the mix could’ve been much better - “I hadn’t mixed anything since The Age of Lovely Intimate Things (2005), so my ears were almost a decade out of practice. Plus the Moon tapes had been transferred to digital for mixing, and up til then I’d always mixed analog, so there I was learning digital mixing on the fly. I was taking forever and didn’t wanna keep 'em waiting another seven years, so eventually I settled on what I felt, at the time, was the best I could do...”

Since then, having honed his digital mixing skills preparing the Energizer EP (Clairecords, 2015), the expanded remastered reissue of The Age of Lovely Intimate Things (Elephant Stone, 2016), and the all new comeback album, The Illusion of Unlimited Choice (Darla, 2020), he was ready to take a new look at They Only Believe In The Moon.

The results are undeniable. The songs have a newfound presence absent from the original release - the stereo field is wider, there’s more clarity and definition on each instrument without sacrificing any of the haze, and the vocals are more spacious and distinguishable while still hewing close to their trademark hush. It’s a truly remarkable difference! Like a whole new listening experience!

This remixed, remastered, re-imagined reissue also marks the first time the album is available on vinyl! With a limited first edition run of 250 copies on translucent blue, this is sure to be an instant fan favorite, a future cult classic, and maybe even a collector's item!


REVIEWS:

"Sciflyer are in the slow dream pop/psych world and I like it. They tend to hover after take-off on these remixed/remastered late ’00s tracks, but hovering is good. And then they hit “So Close to Over” and get jagged and color outside the lines a bit. They close with “Zzyzx,” and the desert/space trip is complete. It’s golden, sick, whatever word you think of as good." -- RAZORCAKE (2022)

"Named after the smoking hot opener from Swervedriver’s immortal debut Raise, Northern California’s Sciflyer delivered in spades on multiple releases earlier last decade before calling it quits in 2008. They Only Believe In The Moon is a case of what could have been – a lost album culled from sessions that were completed in 2007. It’s a blessing that this record has finally seen the light of day because it’s downright monstrous. Turn up the volume, pop on your headphones and let the heavy guitar fuzz work its magic. Fans of Swervedriver and classic SST (especially Dinosaur, Jr. and Hüsker Dü) will eat this up. Rumor has it Sciflyer may play some reunion shows. Let’s hope they do."

-- BIG TAKEOVER (2014)

"These six big, slow-burning songs are evocative of many of the 1990’s indie-rock giants. There are vocals somewhere in there, buried and reverbed to ensure your mind is roasted in maximum textural absorption. Most songs here flame as fiery as the sun in sizzling repetition, but the somewhat Slowdivey cold star “Slowfire” is the best burner of the bunch. Something of a lost album recorded almost a decade ago, it’s good news Sciflyer found a way to release it. For fans of the noisier indie rockers and rawer shoegazers of yesteryear, this will be total comfort music."

-- SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT (2014)

"There's something modest in Sciflyer's album, as if they play purely for themselves - i love it."

-- AUDIO CAMP (2014)

"The band seems completely locked in to each other’s every move. On each listen the record has grown on me more and more."

-- DAGGER (2014)

"It really does sound great. This is a headphone record and cuts like Creator, Slowfire, and The Nation (to name but a few) really jump out of the speakers and into your ears. It's a dense, nuanced record with a lot to take in so one play ain't gonna do it. It's an intense, gorgeous listening experience." -- DAGGER (2021)

"Numbing, noisy and giant. A great little masterpiece."

-- THE BLOG THAT CELEBRATES ITSELF (2014)

"A truly epic album!"

-- PRIMAL MUSIC BLOG (2014)

"This album is decidedly uncommercial and unrelenting".

-- BABY SUE (2014)

Sciflyer’s They Only Believe in the Moon was a long-time coming. The prior EP, The Age of Lovely, Intimate Things, was released in 2005, making the wait for new Sciflyer about nine years. The album was supposed to be out much sooner, having finished the recordings around 2007 but personal issues and the recession of 2008 set back any attempt to release the album in a timely manner. Steve Kennedy (the heart and soul of Sciflyer), Kim Oberly, and Scott Eberhardt played on two thirds of the album while ASTRAL’s Scott Christy helped with the final third. They Only Believe in the Moon was also Sciflyer’s first time in a full 24-track studio as opposed to Kennedy’s penchant for his vintage 8-track machine. The quality of the recording really does show and it’s an impressive, cohesive album throughout.

“Creator” starts the album off with slow, fuzzed-out guitars that play a bar. The drums and bass enter and the tempo is a nice easy pace. This is a different sort of Sciflyer, laid back and in the pocket. The tones on the bass in this track are wonderfully deep and full while the guitars are swirly and mesmerizing. The drums play conductor as they lead the band through this almost nine-minute dreamy jam session. There are subtle changes to break up the hypnotic modes in the composition, like the introduction of cymbals rather than the tinny tapping of the high-hat. Kennedy’s vocals sit just under the surface of the sonic waves as guitars fuzz out and melodies are expressed through a guitar underplating with wah-wah. “Goddess”, perhaps the Creator’s consort, begins with staccato, dreamy guitar and almost a drum depicting a march. They both flow into a mid-tempo groove with floating guitars. Kennedy’s voice remains just out of reach, mysterious and ethereal. At about the 4:21 mark, there is a beautiful change in the overall feel of the track, with the fuzz becoming subtle and the guitars twisty and turning in a bright dance.

“Slowfire” makes another appearance here as a longer version of the song that appeared on Melt. It is slowed down in terms of the tempo, almost to a crawl. The notes stretch out, patient, ethereal, and inviting. The guitar slowly percolates in the speakers while the bass sparsely keeps the drums and guitars together. The drums seem to have a slight reverb on them, pensive and reserved. Kennedy almost whispers, inviting the listener into a contemplative space. “The Nation” also makes an appearance here as an extended song. It originally appeared on The Age of Lovely, Intimate Things. It’s also a slower version, but not as drastic as the change to “Slowfire”. However, this does fit the overall tone and tempo of the album in general. There is a laid-back groove going on here as the various guitar tones play around in the soundscapes. The bridge is slightly more aggressive and places this livelier moment during the composition. It’s a great reworking of the song and it’s especially nice to hear it recorded in a 24-track studio. Some of the brighter and deeper tones really shine in this new recording.

“So Close to Over” begins with spoken words and then moves into this circular phrasing on the guitar and bass. A slow, almost lethargic tempo begins as the drums and bass move forward as if through a viscous fluid. The vocals are deeper and ghost-like. Kennedy sings “this walk on the waters is testing my mettle/it looked good on paper/the temperature’s rising/the stars are exploding/the dreams turns to vapor/I tried on the armor/it weighed on my conscience and bested my patience”. This slow, slogging nature of the first part of the piece is heavily reflected in the lyrics. At about 4:08, the band comes out of the mire and a bright, upbeat tempo erupts out of the early effort. It’s as if the heavy burden has been lifted and the ability to move forward restored. “ZZYZX” is this wonderfully powerful instrumental track that evokes wide open California deserts. ZZYZX is a community in San Bernardino, California off interstate 15. The song is brisk, vibrant and has these almost surf-style rock moments but they are buried in heavy fuzz and riddled with dazzling guitar tones. The bass is driving and the drums energetic. It’s a wonderful finale to a cogent record.

They Only Believe in the Moon is a fantastic album but it’s also an incredible LP in Sciflyer’s catalog as a whole. From start to finish, the album is coherent, the compositions unique, and the overall quality of the recording top-notch. Kennedy and company have delivered a shoegaze masterpiece that should be highly recognized for its significance. When one hears a Sciflyer song, it sounds uniquely like them and They Only Believe in the Moon captures that unique sound so well. Whether you are a shoegaze fan or just a fan of music, pick this album up. You won’t be disappointed.

-- SOMEWHERE COLD (2014)

credits

released August 19, 2021

Steven Kennedy - guitars, pedals, voice
Kimberly Oberly - bass
Scott Eberhardt - drums (1-4)
Scott Christy - drums (5 and 6)

Recorded on two inch tape in Emeryville, CA - 2006 & 2007.
Remixed and Remastered by Steve at Area 52 - 2020.
all songs ©2014 sciflyer

For William James Holt Jr., 1963-2012.

This reissue ©2021 Sciflyer / Clairecords

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Sciflyer Alameda, California

Current lineup, 2018:

Steven Kennedy - guitar, pedals, vocal

Sophia Campbell - bass, vocal

Sonya Trejo - drums and cymbals

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