By This article previously appeared on Crossfader
Bandcamp Picks of the Week, as large and in charge as ever
Grim Singmuf – FTP
Genre: Plunderphonics
Favorite Tracks: “UMMM……,” “GREAT RACE,” “FREEDUMB,” “S A L T”
A psychedelic vortex put together as a musical collage to form FTP, Grim Singmuf has worked for more than 10 years as a music producer and repurposes peculiar sound bites from his work—not knowing what you’re listening to is all part of the fun. FTP is a distorted jazz record left on repeat in an empty room, and if anyone will listen, their mind will be expanded. Each track drastically varies in length, the longest being 6:01 and shortest 0:45, every single one a grab bag of genres and messages. “GREAT RACE” calls out racism of kids in schools targeted by teachers or cops while “UMMM……” proclaims “Fuck the police.” Most of the album is too staccato to be passively consumed, especially tracks such as “BAIL” and “FREEDUMB,” but all have importance nonetheless. “FREEDUMB” is at least musically upbeat, ending in a videogame synth to exit your turn, and the up-tempo “BAIL” uses whistling to show the wistful delusion in praying for “RELEASE,” a continuation on the same melody. Remixing “This is how we do it,” with birds chirping and other phrases like “with your charm I am so bright,” “S A L T” makes sense once you’ve listened to the rest of the album and understand the patchwork of the many samples. FTP melds many aspects of Singmuf’s career into a juxtaposed piece of delusion. Check it out on Bandcamp. [Nikki Reifler]
Gulfer – DOG BLESS
Genre: Mathpunk
Favorite Tracks: “Fading,” “Babyshoe,” “Judy Froster,” “We’ve All Done Wrong”
The post-Modern Baseball emo landscape has moved on healthily, wasting no time anointing a few “next big thing” faces of a movement, but I’d nonetheless like to nominate the fellas from Gulfer to actually fill that fun-four-piece-with-feelings-that-I’d-love-to-get-a-beer-with hole. Having released a number of EPs and a solid debut in 2015’s WHAT GIVES, their newest album, DOG BLESS, is their fullest work yet. A half-hour, 12-song LP that digs into and redesigns that midwest emo sound, DOG BLESS lusts after familiar themes for the genre while simultaneously reinvigorating, taking the arty math rock of their previous releases and making it arguably as blended as it’s ever been. Think of the guitar tones of Their / They’re / There and the off-kilter drumming of an act like Into It. Over it., while laying into math rock franticness that’s being masked by something more tonally contemplative. We’ve seen this idea implemented by other bands, notably Tiny Moving Parts, but DOG BLESS is always on edge, almost living in the anticipation of life’s big moment rather than celebrating or lamenting it. While math rock can have the tendency to overwhelm, Gulfer’s atypical guitars are open and approachable, and at times they abandon that style altogether, channeling something more straightforward and emotionally naked, like on “Babyshoe,” “Fading,” or the meditatively binding interludes. Even when the rhythms get funkier, as they do on “Be Father,” Vincent Ford’s vocals ground these songs emotionally, never getting too inaccessible. Even if it doesn’t punch quite as hard and fresh as WHAT GIVES, DOG BLESS feels more comfortable and complete. While becoming the face of a movement is still far away, Gulfer have officially made the leap forward. You can check out DOG BLESS here. [CJ Simonson]
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