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New
album of psychedelic pop from Seattle veterans The Green Pajamas,
mining childhood nostalgia on their new album...
Box Of Secrets is a conceptual album, a follow up if you will
to 'Northern Gothic' (Camera Obscura, 2002), with three intertwining
themes running through it: local legends, characters, and
personal mythology. Inspired less by arcane literature and
more by The Green Pajamas three songwriters’ own childhood
experiences: 70's TV movies dealing with gothic themes of
murder, secrets, the supernatural; along with small town life
in the Pacific Northwest, the vague setting for many of the
songs is the Washington coast. The mostly fictional stories
enclosed within this 'Box of Secrets' evoke a shared memory
or that spooky sweet nostalgia, whether lived or not. Though
the subject matter is dark, the music and songs themselves
promise to be a bit more rocking and psychedelic, moreso than
their last true studio album 21st Century Séance,
which explored more mellow moods…
Biography:
The Green Pajamas formed in the spring of 1984 when Jeff Kelly
and Joe Ross recorded and released their first album, Summer
Of Lust, pioneering Seattle's answer to the Los Angeles Paisley
Underground scene. "The Pajamas somehow manage to sound
like holding two kaleidoscopes side by side and using them
as binoculars to see the future of rock'n'roll" wrote
Phil McMullen in Bucketfull Of Brains [July 1987]. The band
rose to college radio fame in the mid 1980s with the 7"
record Kim The Waitress, and, over the last 22 years, has
released numerous albums on many labels including Green Monkey,
Bomp!, Camera Obscura and Get Hip. Their most recent albums
are available on Hidden Agenda. The Green Pajamas' current
lineup includes founding members Kelly and Ross (on guitar
and bass respectively), longtime stalwart Eric Lichter (keyboard),
Laura Weller (guitar) and Scott Vanderpool (drums).
Though
its focus has always been on recording, the band has performed
in its home town and at the Terrastock festivals in San Francisco,
London, Providence and Seattle, as well as in Austin, Boston,
Vancouver…
The
Green Pajamas, whose long run and prolific output have earned
them the title, "legendary" from The Seattle Post
Intelligencer and others, have several recording projects
and a possible tour in the works for 2007.
Past praise for the work of The Green Pajamas:
ALL
MUSIC GUIDE: “Seattle's Green Pajamas can be seen
as a more serious equivalent to XTC side project the Dukes
Of Stratosphear; both bands deal in subtle twists of '60s
psychedelia…the Green Pajamas have a more earnest, folksy
sound…”
NEW YORK TIMES: “When are the highly literate and
melody-savvy Mr. Kelly and the retro psychedelic pop band
he leads, The Green Pajamas, going to get, at the very least,
a decent cult following?” - NEW YORK TIMES
MAGNET: “A recommended pursuit for fans of the Go-Betweens,
Elf Power or the Soft Boys”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: “Coy, clever psychedelic pop.”

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