Leyland Kirby re-invents himself once again. The title “Intrigue & Stuff (Vol. 1) reminds you you’re still dealing with the same prankster who has run V/VM records for over a decade. While Leyland last released under his name with the enormous “Sadly, the Future is No Longer what it was” 3 disc set. Most of that 3-disc set was infinitely bleak unlike this nearly optimistic collection of songs.
“Video 2000” starts up the long EP. I’m amazed by this track. When I listen to it I hear a strange, hallucinatory rave-up. He puts a basic beat and lets the track go where it wants. Despite all the movements and changes in the sound it remains extremely positive for me. Parts of it remind me of Tones on Tail’s song “Rain” as it tries to come into focus unlike “Rain” though it never comes into focus. Shifts occur with alarming near disorientating regularly. Let this one carry you on it is easily the best of the six tracks. Play this one a lot.
My other favorites are “Live for the Future, Long for the Past” and “Ruined Visions”. The former sounds massive, you can’t quite get the volume to be loud enough. For that track is the sound of something unimaginably massive. “Ruined Visions” takes a different tact. It ends on a tragic note, bringing to mind the best of Leyland’s previous work.
Since this is only the first of a 4-part EP series (I guess Leyland even does EPs on a grand scale) I’m pretty excited. This is perhaps my favorite EP I’ve heard in a long while.