Cosmic Radio Station

If you went up and over the hill behind Port Chalmers, Dunedin, New Zealand, you might stumble across the rundown shack and converted woolshed whence the Cosmic Radio Station was first beamed into the Pacific ether. Head back to Port Chalmers itself and there stands Chick's Hotel. Tiny it may be, but it's hosted shows by Sebadoh, Stephen Malkmus, J Mascis, Sharon van Etten, and Parquet Courts, among many others, and it's also the epicenter of the vibrant Dunedin pop underground. The venue is run by the three members of The Shifting Sands - Mike McLeod (guitar, vocals), Tom Bell (bass), and Jake Langley (drums) - who, even with the responsibility of providing radio for the cosmos and bringing bands to Dunedin, still managed to undertake a 2014 US West Coast tour supporting David Kilgour & The Heavy Eights. The eye-popping sleeve of Cosmic Radio Station, by renowned Port Chalmers artist Jim Cooper, gives some idea of the psych-dealing within. This is an album that drips sundazed melody through a shifting haze of fuzzy, chiming guitars, shimmering strings, and vocal harmonies, with the aforementioned Mr. Kilgour lending his inimitable guitar to two songs. Recorded in a woolshed in Whareakeake and a decrepit crib overlooking Mapoutahi. Overdubs recorded at Chick's Hotel. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Thomas Bell.