The Ceiling Stares - Wicked Problem
The Ceiling Stares, the indie-rock/synth-rock brainchild of Stephen Patchan, released Wicked Problem not long ago – a carefully arranged nine-track album meant to be listened to entirely at one sitting.
The Ceiling Stares | Photo: Calista Lyon
Explaining his musical outpourings, Stephen says, “These albums are snapshots. I like to grab ideas and topics and write songs about them. Sometimes, I’m playing with ideas; sometimes, I’m making a statement; sometimes, I’m seeing the humor in things; and, sometimes, I see the devastating effects. I like being heavy, but also smirking at the same time—I don’t take myself that seriously.”
He goes on to talk about the album’s influences, citing Brian Eno, Vangelis, and the Chromatics, along with Disneyland’s “It’s A Small World Ride.” “I love how the music bleeds together between sections of that ride,” shares Stephen.
A classically trained pianist, Stephen’s budding career as a pianist came to a screeching halt, when, as a teenager in a street brawl, his left hand was smashed, mutilating two fingers. Despite the damage, he kept on writing music and performing and, in 2010, formed The Ceiling Stares, playing “sludgie indie-pop” in Pittsburgh’s elite dive bars.
Chock-full of stridently almost garish tones, the tune’s futuristic savors inject the song with dystopian moodiness.
In 2014, he moved to L.A., where he continued to use the name The Ceiling Stares while developing his unique sound, a blend of psych-pop, synth-rock, dad-rock, lo-fi, and anti-prog prog rock.
The album begins with the title track, a post-punk-flavored tune traveling on glistening colors, and a Talking Heads-like syncopated rhythm. Entry points include “Hollywood Has A Gun,” whose lyrics confront Hollywood’s preoccupation with guns and violence, all in the name of profit. Luminous synths and trumpeting horns infuse the tune with crunching new wave textures, followed by a shooting scenario and tongue-in-cheek applause.
“Malkmus X” rides frenetic synths rife with metallic droning surfaces, as the lyrics comment on Malkmus’ song “Bike Lane.” Chock-full of stridently almost garish tones, the tune’s futuristic savors inject the song with dystopian moodiness.
The final track, “Big Boy Fat Man,” according to Stephen, “Is just a gentle reminder that the US dropped two atomic bombs and killed an ass-ton of people.” Opening on brittle percussion and oscillating, intensely stark synths, there’s a grandiose funereal symphonic feel to the composition, at once mordant and penetrating.
Rife with beguiling new wave tangs, on Wicked Problem, The Ceiling Stares depict a multiplicity of relentlessly delicious soundscapes. This is an album definitely worth checking out, simply because of its innovative approach.
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