Its hard to pin down this album, but there is one thing that can be said about it confidently…it is great. I have a hard time not picturing early p-funk albums like osmium, america eats its young, maggot brain, etc… The grooves on here range from bizarre beck quirkiness, flaming lips fiasco, captain beefheart’s raw grittiness, frank zappa‘s odd concoctions, with a little bit of black key’s brothers thrown in for good measure. I’m not sure what it is that reminds me of the key’s brothers maybe its the underlying soul! In fact much of this album has a hauntingly authentic 60s psyched out sound. I’m not sure how they did it, I can only imagine it was a magical session for the musicians. So get down and thank Stones Throw for this release by purchasing a copy. It is best digested as a whole album since it is very diverse musically. I’ll give ya just a taste to wet your appetite.
Overall what I’m saying about this one is just listen to it, enjoy it, don’t judge it just let it seep in.
Also here is some cool concept designs by Annie Nguyen for the Stepkids vinyl. They weren’t used but they are really cool. Check out her blog here…
…and here is some tunes from those groups I talked about above. Maybe you too will hear the influences like I do.
The Parliaments-All Your Goodies Are Gone
Flaming Lips-Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band-Observatory Crest
Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band-Candle Mambo
Captain Beefheart-Lick My Decals Off, Baby
Captain Beefheart-Bluejeans & Moonbeams
The Black Keys-Unknown Brother
The Black Keys-Never Gonna Give You Up
By the way I’m sure we all are anxiously awaiting the release of the Keys new one, “el camino,” pre-order it here.
Soul Donuts 