Adam gorightly - transmissions from a dying planet

Adam Gorightly

Transmissions From A Dying Planet
self-released; 2013

3.5 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Adam Gorightly has been composing and recording music for the last 25 years. He has kind of been on a rampage the last couple of years releasing three full-length albums. The first of those three albums is called Transmissions From A Dying Planet. It should be noted that many of the songs were used in an indie film called “The New Prophet.” Transmissions From A Dying Planet has some interesting album cover art and song titles such as “The New Prophet” and “Ouija Board” as well as lyrics that refer to the unknown quite often. The album reminded me of something that people who get hyped about conspiracies would get into.  For instance on “The New Prophet” Gorightly mentioned Nostradamus, then there is the overt mention of UFO’s on “Human Stew” as well as the demonic questions he asks on “Ouija Board.” 

So what does the music sound like? Imagine if Ariel Pink was making music in 1985 and was having a bad day and decided to make a space opera. The music sounds like it is coming from next door and is covered in an unhealthy amount of reverb. Sometimes it irritated me to no end and other times I found myself mesmerized. I haven't had such an ambivalent relationship with music in a long time. Gorightly’s voice doesn't sound contemporary at all. It’s stuck in the mid eighties somewhere. It had the same effect on me as the music. 

After a brief intro we are presented with “The New Prophet” where the electronic drums are barely audible, as they lay deep in the mix. The music consists of white noise from guitars and piano as Gorightly sings over it. “Lost In Time” sounded like a demo from The Flaming Lips Embryonic. It has this psychedelic overtone and I like the way the harmonic works on the song. It is one of the better songs on the album. Why they decided to pan the vocals hard right on “Human Stew” baffled me. There is no getting around it; the mix sounded odd on headphones. Similar issues plague “Ouija Board.” The music sounds decent here as the acoustic guitar melds well with the theremin. HIs voice has so much reverb that it was noticeable. There is way too much of it and he has too much low end making the vocals sound muddy and unclear.

I have an ambivalent relationship with this album. I appreciate it because it’s a one of a kind that isn’t much else like I have heard and that only an eccentric person could make but on the other hand the production is straight up confusing, if not frustrating at times. 

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