(Day) Tripping with the Apples (in Stereo)

When Denver’s Apples in Stereo asked Eric Allen to play bass with them in 1995, he accepted in a heartbeat. Joining the Apples wasn’t an opportunity he was going to pass up. At the time, the band had only been together for a few years and was known for its revolving cast of players. Allen had never really played bass (he was a guitarist in other local groups), but anytime they had a show, he would go, so he figured he might as well join the band.

The Apples have come a long way since then. What started as one of the living, breathing musical incarnations of the Elephant 6 Collective — a community of artists sharing apartments and recording studios — has evolved into a creative monster. While initially lumped in with bands like Neutral Milk Hotel and the Olivia Tremor Control, the Apples have evolved into a superpower themselves.

As its title implies, Travellers in Space and Time, the Apples' seventh album, takes listeners through a time warp. We not only glimpse the Apples' history, but also stop in the '60s and '80s along the way. At first listen, "Dream About the Future" is like hearing Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Blue Sky" for the first time. You want to sing along shamelessly with the falsetto vocals. You want to dance maniacally around the room pretending to pound on keyboards. The song produces that kind of joy.

Read the rest here at Cleveland Scene.