Hyperstory
Hyperstory
(Pureland, 2009)

If you Google the name of C. Scott Blevins—the songwriter, guitarist, and producer who records as Hyperstory, you won’t find very much at all. Most sites merely paraphrase, or print verbatim, the four paragraphs of the press release that accompanies his self-titled debut. What is known is that Blevins lives in Los Angeles and has a far-reaching musical vision that’s hard to pin down. Almost 30 musicians, including a full horn section, female backing vocalists, acoustic and electric bassists, drummers, keyboard players, and a pedal steel guitar whiz, contribute to the soundscapes on Hyperstory, but there’s not a single cluttered note.

The album opens with a prelude of blue synthesizer notes and the sound of a crowd mixed down and processed to provide a ghostly ambience before moving into “A Happening”, a metaphysical soul song with a slightly Eastern European feel. Guest vocalist Julian Cassia’s whispered vocal and a laid-back funk backbeat produce a dislocated feel that complements the confusion of the lyric. Halfway through, a chorus of children’s voices come in singing random “la la la”s, adding to the peculiar ambience. “Something Good” opens with a drum beat and trebly guitar that wouldn’t be out of place on a surf tune, but morphs into a Philly soul style thing with Cassia’s high tenor suggesting a mix of the Stylistics and early ’80s British synth-driven R&B without sounding overly derivative. The lyric balances the desire for satisfaction with the ominous knowledge of ultimate loss and limitation.

“Mandate” drops more weirdness into the mix; a ranting street preacher—again, mixed down and processed—is complemented by a synthesizer’s hiss and the ambient sound of a late night street corner. “Will It Ever Change” is an achingly beautiful torch song with a delicate, chiming guitar pulse and another disconsolate vocal from Cassia. Wailing, wordless, gospel-drenched female vocals weave in and around an indigo horn chart that slowly grows in volume and intensity as the tune comes to a climax. “Ascension” is the trippiest track, an instrumental that conflates Memphis soul, German prog-rock, and Blaxploitation wah-wah guitars. “A Reckoning” moves back into existential angst with Cassia crooning about the impossibility of ever knowing anything for certain. It rides a somnambulant Motown-ish beat and resolves with another big new wave-y chorus that’s catchy as hell and provides a big, if perhaps unsatisfying, release—emotionally that is. Musically, it’s the album’s biggest release, as it builds and builds to a dizzying conclusion. “End Story” tops the record off with a blue electric piano, a bit of devil-may-care whistling, and jazzy horn orchestrations with a touch of Bacharach.

Hyperstory is cinematic in style, with expansive arrangements that suggest the soundtrack for a moody, urban musical. The overall sound is smooth and seductive, and while it implies quiet storm soul, chill room electronica, and trip-hop, it doesn’t fit easily into any of those genres. The songwriting is old-fashioned, producing strongly constructed tunes with solid, catchy choruses and instrumental hooks that make every tune sound like a hit. The instrumental interludes are ambient portraits that evoke bustling nighttime streets and mysterious back alleys. Blevins seamlessly blends real instruments with loops and samples. It’s hard to distinguish between the real and sampled sounds, and the result always sounds organic. The dreamy, soulful vocals of Cassia, who has a subtle delivery that slowly wins you over with its understated emotion, hold it all together.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

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