Every song here begins with such utter simplicity that, under the right conditions, your mind wraps around the music and the sound is fully contained within you. The songs develop slowly, adding one -- or at the most, two -- new layers of sound, barely expanding to the area outside of your head, always remaining close to you. Eventually, you become so entwined with the music that turning it off would be as empty an experience as taking a morning walk through the woods without hearing the birds chirping. The music is yours.
"Colorfulnickels" serves as a fine example of this phenomenon. You're led into the song by the simplest acoustic guitar playing, then introduced to another guitar which, coming and going, is played twice as fast, and sounds like aural fireworks. It's a pleasant experience, in the most fundamental sense.
The sporadic vocals are an entirely different animal -- rugged and jagged and quivering. However, while it sounds like the vocalist is singing through an exhaust pipe, the sound contrasts quite nicely with the cleanly picked guitars; you'll get used to it in time. Listen closely and you'll notice that the vocals function more as an instrument than a narrative device; their absence is often covered by a sound-blurring synthesizer.
While this is a basement-quality four-track recording, bereft of the slightest hint of studio glitz, the lack of polish only adds to its preciousness; it's the album equivalent of a child's handmade greeting card. That said, there is some rather impressive non-guitar work here; it's just poorly recorded. "Applewormappleworm", hopelessly repeating the lines "...and you will live in poppies", is laced with the most hopeful and beautiful synthesized melody. "Oat", with its dance/hip-hop-friendly drum loop, also makes use of a charmingly clunky MIDI synth that sounds like it was borrowed from of an old school computer game.
The world is a fast-paced place, and it's quite apparent that some of us need songs that completely spell themselves out via ever-repeating choruses and overly catchy melodies. The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed is for people who are tired of such tried and true song structures; if you're ready to take a step back in order to blur the Big Picture, this is the album for you.
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