Reviewed: Sunburned Hand of the Man's Fire Escape

Before I jump into the mindless aesthetic collectively known as Sunburned Hand of the Man, I think it best to note who, outside of Sunburned, participated in the making of Fire Escape:

Kieran Hebden (of Fridge, Four Tet, and Hebden/Reid)
Michael Flower (of Vibracathedral Orchestra, Flower/Corsano, The Michael Flower Band)
Bridget Hayden (of Vibracathedral Orchestra)
Keith Wood (of Hush Arbors, Zodiacs, The Sky High Band and many other projects)

That list, unfamiliar to some and as Americana as apple pie to others, is full of underground heavyweights. Other than Hebden's immediate influence on the sound and production of Fire Escape, this album is a total marriage of Sunburned's crazed, contained sound versus the explosive sounds of their collaborators.
Fire Escapes is a wild blend of acid, pysch, and Peter and the Wolf. I feel as of each instrument and every stanza is telling a story so far out that only these people can tell it properly and without fear. This is the album to accompany the ravings of lunatics and madmen; these are the sounds of the 60s finally melting into the abyss.

What is most surprising--and therefore the hook--is how dance and hip-hop influenced this is. Some of these tracks are fantastic soul instrumentals that scream for a club remix with indie's hip-hop heavyweights delivering vicious lyrical beatdowns. Just as I was growing a bit tired of Hebden's schtick, he's gone and transformed Sunburned Hand of the Man into a band that has finally broken its boundaries after countless tries. On the heels of this year's Z, Sunburned has solidified themselves as 'can't miss' music. But fear not, Sunburned hasn't sold out their weird stylings just for a one-off chance at making a mainstream indie media take notice. This is undoubtedly all Sunburned Hand of the Man.

Passing up Fire Escape would be the biggest musical faux pas of 2007.