AMG Review of Future History of a Sunhine Fix

Jason Ankeny
All Music Guide

The debut solo EP from the Olivia Tremor Control's Bill Doss further indulges the group's psychedelic fetishes while reining in their more experimental impulses, a direction that makes The Future History of a Sunshine Fix more accessible but less mind-expanding than its antecedents. Still, while the record's Elephant 6 roots are unmistakable, give Doss credit for staking out new territory: the jaunty "Last Night I Had a Dream (Said I Had a Dream Last Night)" is a surprisingly straightforward country number, while "Future History and the Irrelevance of Time" radiates a sweetness and nocturnal loveliness absent from his OTC efforts; most eye-opening of all, the instrumental "The Many Keys to Reunion" even sets its cosmic noodlings against a breakbeat backdrop. Given the impressive amount of ground the Sunshine Fix covers in just a little over 15 minutes, the possibilities an album-length canvas might afford are endless.