Light and dark. Exultation and despair. Love and death… Supermodern World Of Beauty, the debut offering by Calgary musician Ryan Bourne, is a kaleidoscopic descent into a realm of contrast. It is sprawling and sparse, joyful and pensive, raucous and delicate. Evocative vocals, raw guitars, analog circuitry and homemade effects crackle and soar where unabashed songcraft, meet the outer limits of psychedelic rock.

From the bouncy opener “Calling From Beyond”, to the beautifully mournful “Serves You Right”, the ten songs collected on Supermodern World Of Beauty comprise a raw, psychedelic, era-defying mosaic, with echoes of influences as diverse as Syd Barrett, Bach, late GBV, the Beach Boys, The Flaming Lips, Willem DeKooning, Indian philosophy, the torture of heartbreak, Calgary sunsets, and the ceaseless flow of moments in a day.

Supermodern World Of Beauty was produced, arranged and recorded by Jay Crocker (Ghostkeeper, Lorrie Matheson, Mark Davis) in the spring and fall of 2008 at Artunit, Crocker’s fully analog studio. With the help of Bourne’s stalwart bandmates Steve Fletcher (Woodpigeon, MBF, Jay Crocker) on keys and Eric Hamelin (Chad VanGaalen, Nomoreshapes) on drums, along with a handful of Calgary’s finest including Scott Munro (VanGaalen, Crocker, Gunther) on bass, and Jon May (Polyjesters, Cam Penner) on drums, Bourne and Crocker concoct a polychromatic magic while maintaining the singleness of a classic album. The result is a contemporary psych-pop gem.