I bought this CD on a whim when I was visiting Waterloo Records in Austin. I was checking out the staff picks that they had posted on the back wall because I couldn't seem to find a damn thing to buy! The staff member who picked this CD, Jeff, also listed music as diverse as Basement Jaxx and Lambchop in this Top 5 so I said "What the hell".

It turned out to be a great decision. Listening to this CD on a long drive across Texas proved to be a perfect synergy of music meeting the environment. The first track "Erase The Moon" is a close to 6 minute opus of vocals, moog and alto sax and is an excellent lead in to the record. This band has found a tantalizing and refreshingly different sound simply with the combination of the moog, sax, and guitar feedback, all of which rely heavily on atmosphere. I would recommend this CD to any fans of moody English music in the vein of Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine.

Special Goodness brought back the crowd that Eureka Farm scared away. You would think that they would've drawn a larger crowd having members from Weezer in the band, but navigating to the bathrooms wasn't all that hard. Clearview was only 3/4 full. They put on a nice show. The only thing I noticed, was that there was a lot of harmonizing. Almost too much harmonizing. The songs were ultra poppy and fun. You could hear the Weezer influence in every song. Which is in no way a bad thing. They are a band getting notoriety from their big brother, and loving every minute of it. They had fun on stage and we were having fun watching. A very good evening.

What they do do is play lengthy, spooky, organically tricky pieces given a distinctive sound by Lowery organs and their home-made spring reverb unit. Lots of distorted guitars, plus other keyboards and the occasional horn that sounds neither jazzy nor R&B-lite - probably because the horn most heard here, bass clarinet, isn't used much in either style (although Eric Dolphy is noted as an influence in the press materials). That reverb gives the songs a haunting, spacious quality. Although I'm not terribly familiar with current prog, Eureka Farm's sound doesn't particularly remind me of anyone else. Moments attain near-Crimson intensity, some harmonies are knotty as Henry Cow's (and those horns help that impression), and more rock-like passages sound almost like Rush after a cheese-ectomy. Lyrics are oblique but neither empty-headed nor lovey-dovey (and thank god, not inspired by Ayn Rand). Band members mention Talk Talk, Can, and Ornette Coleman as influences - that sounds about right to me. - Jeff Norman

The view contains nine convincing songs. Songs is maybe not the right description, it are real "compositions". The songs are layered pieces that are worked out to climaxes. They use so much instruments in layered composition that it's a real challenge for the listener. The vocal harmonies take a very prominent place in the compositions. For the melody lines of the vocals they use long sustain tones this in combination with the harmony vocals gives it all a typical "Eureka Farm sound". Mostly em I not such a big fan of those bombastic rock exponents, but Eureka Farm does me something. The way they create and express feelings are real good done in a real surrealistic sphere. A band that made, averse to each popular genre are style his own music, deserve your attention.

Fans of slightly psychedelic proggish rock should like this, as Eureka Farm avoids the pitfalls typical of the prog genre: no show-offy playing, no striving after borrowed status (i.e., ripping off the classics), no attempting to be obscurer-than-thou, no attempt to sound as if their music came down from the mountain along with the Ten Commandments. What they do do is play lengthy, spooky, organically tricky pieces given a distinctive sound by Lowery organs and their home-made spring reverb unit. Lots of distorted guitars, plus other keyboards and the occasional horn that sounds neither jazzy nor R&B-lite - probably because the horn most heard here, bass clarinet, isn't used much in either style (although Eric Dolphy is noted as an influence in the press materials). That reverb gives the songs a haunting, spacious quality. Although I'm not terribly familiar with current prog, Eureka Farm's sound doesn't particularly remind me of anyone else. Moments attain near-Crimson intensity, some harmonies are knotty as Henry Cow's (and those horns help that impression), and more rock-like passages sound almost like Rush after a cheese-ectomy. Lyrics are oblique but neither empty-headed nor lovey-dovey (and thank god, not inspired by Ayn Rand). Band members mention Talk Talk, Can, and Ornette Coleman as influences - that sounds about right to me.

While personality may not be their strength, Eureka Farm's unique compositional prowess balances their aforementioned flaws. Extended forms, complex changes and wild atonality testify to this quartet's full musical capability. With the harsh guitars, free woodwinds, ethereal organs and minimalist electronics on the record, Eureka Farm's instrumentation shines as one true sign of their innate talent for sonic manipulation. The end result is an album best used as music for driving through rural America late at night. It may be difficult to fully understand The View, but it's not hard to like it. - Joe Tepperman | Staff Writer