Album Notes

On the island of Tanna in the South Pacific, religious sects known as “cargo cults” faithfully await the day when John Frum, their savior-figure, arrives on their shores to shower them with goods such as outboard boat motors and soft drinks. Since the 1930’s, generations of cargo cult members have gathered to celebrate annually on February 15 to see if Frum—usually depicted as an American World War II serviceman—makes good on his promise of delivering immense material wealth.

If this savior has manifested himself in John Frum of Seattle, Washington, the people of Tanna could be in for a long wait. Rather than preparing for any long journeys south, John Frum has spent the last several months with multi instrumentalist Jimmy Andrews recording “Plantation To Your Youth” under the name Transient Songs.

Frum’s 5 song basement-bred odes to burn-outs, ghost hunting strippers, regret, loneliness, southern California debauchery, New Orleans, and sleeping pill-induced derangement take the listener on a smoky, psychedelic odyssey through a dark orange fog bank best navigated in a seated position with plenty of beer. The record’s cinematic torrent of infinite guitar-chime and undercurrents of spacey, faraway feedback is an experience that reveals unnoticed nuances with every listen. “Plantation To Your Youth” won’t power boats in Tanna. It won’t make them rich. But one thing it might do for them—and everyone else who gives this a listen—is provide an exquisite way to pass the time while waiting to hit the transcendental jackpot. - Teddy Brucker