REVIEWS
Italian review of the album on the Perkele site

It both sobers and concentrates the mind to consider that Ohio space-rockers Floorian would have been one of Bomp founder Greg Shaw's last signings before he made an indecently early exit from this earth. The man who put out the earliest releases by the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Warlocks clearly saw the band as spiritual kin to these post-shoegazer psychedelic din-makers, and his opinion is not one to be discounted easily. 'What the Buzzing' was originally issued on the band's own Drigh Records in 2002. It's been remixed and supplemented with new material for the Bomp release, and now clocks in at an ambitious 70 minutes. What Shaw saw in the band's early work has largely been realised here. A veil has been lifted, and Floorian's recordings now sparkle at that perfect intersection of melody and noise sought by many and found by only a few. The exquisitely heavy-lidded 'Or So They Say' is the perfect opener, hang-gliding into the middle of a Moroccan market on currents of middle-eastern guitar bliss and along a central melodic thread nailed by John Godshalk's newly clarified vocals. Though clearly influenced by Swervedriver and the Catherine Wheel, the arabesque guitar work of Fisher and Park on this track disengages Floorian's work from it's influences. On other tracks, the band builds eastern-influenced space rock atmospheres that recall everyone from Pink Floyd circa 'Saucerful of Secrets' to Spaceman 3 and even Clark-Hutchinson on their epochal 'A-MH2'. Occasionally they skirt the abyss: the disembodied vocals, backwards guitar and e-bow drones of 'Overruled' descend into nothingness and return to being like a narcotics overdose being fought with a timely shot of Narcan. They back it up with 'Waiting For It' - a slab of space pop situated somewhere between Yo La Tengo and the Jesus and Mary Chain. 'Auravine', an experiment with abstract guitar drones and tape loops, cleverly leads into 'Symptoms Alone'; perhaps this release's central piece, and tonally a 10-minute companion piece to 'Or So They Say'. 'Symptoms Alone' is a timeless flood of brain chemistry overload, staking a claim for a place on for this track on any compilation of early 21st Century neo-psychedelia. And 20 minutes of the release still remain, with 'Heavium', 'Alt. 11' and 'Somic' taking the listener down a magic carpet glide slope to safe landing. If this new version of 'What the Buzzing' raises any concerns, they are to do with the role of guitarist Phillip Park, who contributes lead guitar to many of the stand-out tracks ('Or So They Say', 'Symptoms Alone', Heavium', 'Alt. 11' for example). Park is now no longer with the band, and replacing his key role in their early sound may prove to be Floorian's biggest challenge for the future, both in the studio and presumably live. Regardless of any weight of expectation raised by Greg Shaw's endorsement of Floorian, the band have crafted a work with substantial mass and momentum ­ one that is highly satisfy for both new listeners, and those who have followed the band from early demos and the first incarnation of this release until now. - Tony Dale / Terrascope

"While some songs are predominately atmospheric and soundscapey, the focus rests on a strong rock and pop influence that Floorian pulls off wonderfully. "Symptoms Alone" is a nine-minute epic of intergalactic folk-rock, like what you'd get if you shot Yo La Tengo even further into the depths of space. "Auravine," meanwhile, focuses more on drones, making great use of a wavering bassline, a sparse beat, and some echoing, atmospheric sounds in the background. Filled with amazing solos, galactic atmospheres, and catchy, all-enveloping bouts of rock, this is one of the best psychedelic records of the year." - Matt Shimmer

Dreamy guitars waft in the air, squealing, grinding, defining astral chords with tasty ease... these stringed manipulations achieve a transcendental disposition, building from a nebulous fog to screeching outcries, further elaborated by lead guitars that seek quite foreign sonic territories with their languid sustains and bent notes... alternating between psychedelic stylings and gothic darkness, conjuring melancholia that then strives to escape the box with emotional exertions. There's a romantic edge in this music, bestowing this spacerock with more than a touch of humanity, making the tunes more accessible." - Matt Howarth


The Cleveland Scene 6/30/04

When Bomp Records head honcho Greg Shaw talks, people listen. The man who discovered and put out the first records by the likes of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Warlocks, as well as releasing the first American record by Spacemen 3, has just signed Floorian to his roster, so don't be surprised if you hear a lot more about these trippy cats from Columbus in the near future.

Floorian's debut, What the Buzzing, (originally on the Columbus indie Drigh Records, considerably remixed and with new material for the Bomp release) is a staggering effort, channeling a dark, atmospheric vibe similar to the likes of early Pink Floyd and the first two Catherine Wheel records, as well as the best work by U.K. cult favorites such as the Comsat Angels and Loop. On songs like "Or So They Say," "Lenka," "In Slow Emotion," and the 10-minute juggernaut "Symptoms Alone," the instrumental interplay between bass player John Godshalk and the dueling guitars of Todd Fischer and Phillip Park is mesmerizing; slow-burning psychedelic buildups, complete with Near Eastern undercurrents, cascade into a trance-inducing avalanche. Phil Spector may have coined the phrase "wall of sound," but trust us, on What the Buzzing and especially live, Floorian has built a fortress.


Razorcake

What The Buzzing is a spacey, tripped-out sonic sojourn into an alternate universe where a swirling mist of shimmering guitar rhythms guides the listener into a trance-like state of spiritual nirvana. Dreamy, otherworldly vocals majestically meander throughout the mix while radiantly hypnotic bass lines and meticulously plodding drum fills beautifully flow in a splendorous show of supreme unison. A near constant solar burst of intergalactic hallucinatory guitar leads, weeping extra-terrestrial feedback, and other abundantly arousing audio stimuli rises above the heavenly din and leaves the listener feeling as if he or she has inhaled a reality-altering hit of pure opium deep into the lungs. Like Rain Parade, Spacemen 3, and A Saucerful Of Secrets-era Pink Floyd before them, Floorian makes astral music of dreams while sweetly tumbling through the stratosphere. A-floating away on the clouds I now shall go. - Roger Moser