he Elephant 6 collective is getting complacent. Having put out a few brilliant records over the years, they have established an indie-rock dynasty, a veritable army of forward-thinking psychedelia enthusiasts, all itching to create the next E6 masterpiece, to take their place alongside Neutral Milk Hotel, Beulah, and the Olivia Tremor Control. So far, only founders Bill Doss, Will Cullen Hart, and Jeff Mangum have managed to produce anything truly worthwhile, and Individualized Shirts, the solo project of OTC touring keyboardist Peter Erchick, doesn’t change that.


If 2K+1 NEO PSYCHEDELIA can be called standard issue, this is certainly it. Erchick visibly tries to incorporate all the familiar, formerly innovative elements characteristic of E6 releases, but instead of delicately placing them where they work, he puts them everywhere, layering the tracks deeper and deeper until the songs are indistinguishable- clumsy boulders rather than elegant gems. Heavy, overbearing guitars clash with feeble pianos, annoying violins, and misplaced horns. Nothing seems to come out of the whole mess, and Erchick’s vocals, while occasionally expressive, get buried under the instruments.


Erchick was the touring keyboardist in the Olivia Tremor Control, and his small, replaceable role is sadistically echoed by his attempts on this album. He sounds like a child, clumsily trying to imitate his older brothers, and falling straight on his face as soon as his own lacking input is required. He has no ideas of his own, and his mechanical talents aren’t even enough to make Individualized Shirts a technical triumph. The production is repulsive and amateurish, and the songwriting is poor. Skill has never mattered to me, though, because it’s an artificial quality that can be learned and mastered through labor. It doesn’t change a musician’s ability to move people, and music isn’t built from it. Heart and human spirit are the only things that matter, and if Individualized Shirts had had either to guide it with any driving force, I would love even its dullest moments. Instead, Erchick tries to simulate other people’s spirits, summoning science fiction plotlines and knob twiddling masturbation to fill the album’s holes.


The entire idea behind the Elephant 6 collective was to establish an exclusive community of creative minds creating music together, influencing and inspiring each other for the good of the music. If they keep releasing records like this, though, they’ll soon become known as a welcoming home for repetitive, pretentious fans, too in love with their heroes to create anything truly unique or beautiful.