Week in Pop: Gary's House, Keith More-Fire, Tee Vee

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Video Salon

Video Salon’s (from left) Brian Pyle & Galya Chikiss; press photo courtesy of the artists.

Arcata’s Brian Pyle (of Ensemble Economique) & Russia’s Galya Chikiss are Video Salon who present us with a listen to their debut cassette from Not Not Fun Records. Their Berlin by Northern California collaboration makes for a moody & atmospheric adventure through various chamber pop style tropes that moves like electronic guided vapors. This is heard on the opening “Shimmer With Heat”, the electronic ambience tone sustains of “Blue Flowers”, to the post-industrial nightwatching “Shift East, Half Moon on the Rise”, as the first track makes something of an underscored reprise with the dark dub of “Shimmer In You”, and leaves you with the redemptive planetary light beams of “Stars Reflecting”.
Taking their title from Chikiss’s experiences from her upbringing where televisions provided windows to new outlets & dimensions of entertainment & information of interest; those feelings & notions are here conveyed through VHS styles of expressionism & pop music impressionism where our experiences with media are relayed through new frequency channels.