charalambides

our bed is green

cd (krk68) kranky

cover | unknown spin

Disc One

  1. Tea
  2. The Treadmill
  3. Take the Pointing Finger for the Moon
  4. Pas el Agoa
  5. Black Pope
  6. Bid You Goodnight
  7. The Core
  8. I DOn't Know You
  9. Stuttgart
  10. Silver Reeds
  11. Our Bed is Green
  12. Faze Her

Disc Two

  1. Regret
  2. Neutron Decay
  3. C. G.
  4. Coming Out
  5. Strange Matter
  6. 20 Hours
  7. Cosmic Sting
  8. Dorothy
  9. I Don't Know What to Sing
  10. The Bottle
  11. The Hair on my Head (Is Brown)
  12. Same Old Routine
  13. Final

Our Bed is Green was the debut release from Charalambides. Formed in 1991 by Tom Carter (who was playing in the heavy psych combo The Mike Gunn at the time) and Christina Carter to take part in improvisational sessions at a local Houston club, the band was asked to play live on KRTU. Instead, they recorded this. Although no band is totally sui generis, anyone who heard the debut recordings by Charalambides in 1992 could have been forgiven for thinking that of the duo. Our Bed is Green roped in folk, improvisation, psychedelia, blues and gospel into a crackling sound world utterly unlike anything else. Ranging across a 90 minute cassette and produced at home on four track, the music had only the means of production in common with the so-called "lo-fi" scene of the time. On their debut Charalambides achieved the distinct otherness they retain to this day.

Originally released on one cassette by the band in 1992 and later reissued as a limited edition compact disc on their Wholly Other, Our Bed is Green was the first release by Charalambides. kranky is proud to add this album to our Charalambides reissue series, placing all of the original cassette (with the exception of two cover songs) on a double CD set. Time Lag reissued the album on vinyl in Fall 2004. This is more than a historical document, the continuing relevance of the music is self-explanatory.