Picked this one up at The Big Dig record show in Seattle. Keep an eye out for it if you’re in the area. They bring great dealers to a great location. But enough about the show.
It was toward the end of the day and most of my funds were spent. Digging through a crate, the cover caught my eye but the price tag was a little out of reach for a late score, $80. I found the seller and told him the honest truth. “Hey man, I really dig this record. I know you don’t know me and definitely don’t owe me anything, but I have to ask. It’s the end of the day and I have $50 left. Would you let it go for that?” If the fact that I’m writing a review hasn’t tipped you off, he said yes. Score. I thanked him and headed home.
Now, before you start searching let me fill you in on something. This record is weird. Like, really weird. If different isn’t your thing you’ll hate it, especially at the prices it typically goes for. I knew about the oddity before I launched into my buying pitch, so consider yourself warned.
It opens with “Do It All” a walking bass line and a female vocalist whose style of singing is, well, different. She starts off yelping, then transitions into what can only be described as some level of yodeling. There are actual words but not many, and when they arrive they come as spoken word. The band kicks in with horns and strings in the freest jazz style I’ve ever heard, extremely scattered, possibly freestyling to tape. The bassist makes some daringly experimental sounds. Percussion is present but isn’t driving anything by a long shot. All together it sounds… pretty damn cool.
The second track, “Stagflation,” offers a little more uniformity, though it’s still far from average. The third track, “The Ocean Moves Primitively,” takes us right back to where the first one leaves off. Extremely weird; I won’t spoil it with a description.
If strange is your thing, begin the dig. I’m not sure I’ve heard another recording this far out there.