Future Clouds and Radar is Robert Harrison’s follow-up to his band Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather (band)

Legendary indie rock outfit Cotton Mather was founded by Robert Harrison of Austin, Texas in the early 1990s. What started as an experimental collaboration with cellist Nat Shelton had by 1993 evolved into a guitar driven pop quartet defined by accessible melodies, strong vocal harmonies and...

. The first album, an eponymous double CD, was released in 2007. Their second release, entitled "Peoria" was released on the 4th of November, 2008 on the Star Apple Kingdom label.

Musical style

Like Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather (band)

Legendary indie rock outfit Cotton Mather was founded by Robert Harrison of Austin, Texas in the early 1990s. What started as an experimental collaboration with cellist Nat Shelton had by 1993 evolved into a guitar driven pop quartet defined by accessible melodies, strong vocal harmonies and...

, Future Clouds and Radar has been described as being of the powerpop genre. Austinist called Future Clouds and Radar "Beatles-esque psychedelia" while the New Yorker

The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

 described it as "sprawling orchestral art rock."

Upon release of the debut CD, NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

 wrote:

It's up for debate whether Austin-based Robert Harrison's double-disc debut is pure genius with blind ambition, or the product of an excess of ideas. In any case, his band Future Clouds and Radar certainly knows how to entertain. The self-titled album crosses a dozen different styles and gets handed numerous genre-definers, all of which include the word "art" as a prefix. Future Clouds and Radar would seem to be inspired by The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...

 or Guided By Voices

Guided by Voices

Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...

, whose prolificacy Harrison emulates.

Videos

Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon (TV channel)

Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

 animator Keith Graves was chosen to create a video of the song "Dr. No." Other videos include:

• Holy Janet Comes on Waves
• Back Seat Silver Jet Sighter
• This Is Really A Book
• Build Havana
• Hurricane Judy
• The Epcot View

Reception

The first album received high praise from critics, drawing comparisons to The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...

, 13th Floor Elevators

13th Floor Elevators

The 13th Floor Elevators were an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland, which existed from 1965 to 1969...

, Electric Light Orchestra

Electric Light Orchestra

Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...

, Robert Pollard

Robert Pollard

Robert Pollard is an American rock musician and singer-songwriter who is the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices, who disbanded in 2004, only to reform in 2010...

, Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....

, John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

, World Party

World Party

World Party is a British pop/alternative rock band, which is essentially the solo project of its sole member, Karl Wallinger. He started the band in 1986 in London after leaving The Waterboys.-Career:...

, and the Kinks

The Kinks

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...

. David Greenberger

David Greenberger

David Greenberger is an American artist, writer and radio commentator best known for his Duplex Planet series of zines, comic books, CDs, and spoken word performances and radio plays...

 says "...file this next to the White Album

The Beatles (album)

The Beatles is the ninth official album by the English rock group The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as "The White Album" as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed on its plain white sleeve.The album was written and recorded during a...

." NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

 wrote "“Audacious? Sure. But undeniably impressive." Texas public radio station KUT

Kut

Al-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...

 listed it among the best albums of the year 2007 while Pop Narcotic listed it in its top 10 of the year.

The second album, Peoria (a "kaleidoscopic vision into a single cinematic narrative about mortality") also received rave reviews:

• "A triumph of schizophrenic musical vision…a beautiful and brilliant mess…magnificent double disc collection of pop gems – 4 stars." (Paste Magazine).
• "Whether FC&R is essaying dreamy, electronicaized psychedelia, blue-eyed soul anthemry, Latin-flecked jangle-pop, or full-guns a-blazing, fuzzed-out garage, the material is executed with a jazzlike precision and suffused with a deeply emotional, spontaneous vibe. Winner 2007’s Debut Artist of the Year" (Harp Magazine). Harp placed Future Clouds and Radar as number 4 on its list of top 50 CDs of 2007

Disc 1

1. Birds Of Prey
2. Let Me Get Your Coat
3. Hurricane Judy
4. Drugstore Bust
5. This Is Really A Book
6. You Will Be Loved
7. Quicksilver
8. Where's My Drink?
9. Holy Janet Comes On Waves
10. Wake Up And Live
11. Our Time
12. Green Mountain Clover
13. Devil No More

Disc 2

1. Quicksilver 2
2. Get Your Boots On
3. Build Havana
4. Dr. No
5. Back Seat Silver Jet Sighter
6. Malice of Stars
7. The Great Escape
8. Letters To Junius
9. Altitude
10. Cowboy Weather
11. Armitage Shanks
12. Christmas Day 1923
13. Wake
14. Safety Zone

Peoria

• Released: 2008
• Label: Star Apple Kingdom records

1. The Epcot View
2. Old Edmund Ruffin
3. Feet On Grass
4. Mummified
5. 18 Months
6. The Mortal
7. Mortal 926
8. Follow The Crane

External links

• http://www.futurecloudsandradar.com Future Clouds & Radar Official Site
• http://noyetidance.blogspot.com/2007/01/future-clouds-radar.html Yeti Don't Dance, "Future Clouds & Radar"
• http://ditchingboy.blogspot.com/2007/05/future-clouds-radar-back-seat-silver.html The Poor Ditching Boy, Future Clouds & Radar "Back Seat Silver Jet Sighter" (2007)
• http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/33017/future-clouds-and-radar-future-clouds-and-radar1/ Pop Matters, "Future Clouds & Radar"
• http://rocksellout.com/2008/11/07/future-clouds-radar-peoria/ Rock Sellout, "Future Clouds and Radar: Peoria"
• http://powerpopaholic.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html Powerpopaholic, Future Clouds & Radar 'Peoria'