Caddywhompus – The Weight 7.7

                Lately I’ve been feeling giddy. I don’t know why. Perhaps it has to do with the scent of early summer in the air. Right now I can feel it is coming, it will be here. The beginning of the summer is always filled with joy; it is literally my favorite time of the year. All that potential not yet wasted. Caddywhompus’s album “The Weight” does a pretty good job of matching my mood.

                It blasts off. They describe themselves as ‘Spastic Pop’. While that does describe them to some degree, there’s a certain heart to the whole album. Each song builds and feeds off the other one. “The Weight” careens from its loud beginning to the quiet moment in the middle. For every song on here has a ying to its yang, a quiet for each piece of loud. Hearing the large sound of the guitar, I’m reminded of Chris Rehm’s solo work. 

                The highlight is the longest track “The Others”. I like how it stops and starts dramatically. Caddywhompus, whatever that word means, applies to this noisy track. Hopefully the drummer was kept hydrated for the duration of the song for it is a true workout. Personally, I kind of wonder how much fun these guys must be to see live, especially for this beast of a track. 

                You can get the entire thing for free right here.  For such a small album it offers a considerable amount of punch.                

Belong – Common Era 6.7

                Belong are really hazy on this record, perhaps too hazy for their own good. This album of about nine songs is a natural progression of their sound. I think of their sound as surf music; the literal sound of surf hitting the shore. While this steady, constant far-away sound can be entrancing on the good songs, unfortunately a lot of it seems to go on for too long or feels a bit uninspired. 

                Some of the songs do work for me. The opener “Come See” is fairly excellent. I enjoy the song bass, coming in at the right time. Had more of the songs included the intensity of this one or unpredictably, I might be satisfied with the album as a whole. As soon as it gets into the two minute mark, you’re brought up to a higher level and lifted out of the sound’s complete murk.

                “Keep Still” would be my other favorite from the album. Any trace of the drum machine is erased. Instead you’re given a heavy sea of sound. The gigantic sound is perhaps what they were aiming for with the rest of the songs but failed to reach. 

                Unfortunately, the album, while decent, isn’t as good as you’d hope. Had they perhaps included more low-end, it might have been better than the perpetual overcast feel most of the album contains. Other bands are obvious influences, such as My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3, etc. But they never quite reach those band’s heights. Instead they rest in an awkward position between a full blissed out sound via Tim Hecker or a more rock-orientated sound. 

                There are good moments (great ones actually) on this record such as the two aforementioned tracks but as a whole it fails to leave a strong impression.

Chris Rehm – Worries, etc. 7.8

                I’d never heard Chris’s stuff before this. After listening to it, I realize what an egregious error that was on my part. Somehow Chris is able to effortlessly reference ambient, noise, and bits of guitar without seeming crowded. What’s more impressive is he’s able to do this in less than 30 minutes. 

                All of this is technically experimental, but what binds the stuff together is an emotional flow, rather than any sonic kind. This makes it a bit more direct and personal than your average run of the mill experimental release. The passages all indicate a different sort of concern (worry, if you will) and it progresses as such. 

                “Worries” begins as a near whisper. Color is added as the piece develops, becoming warmer and warmer as it reaches its conclusion. It flows perfectly into the next song “Blinders” my personal favorite on the album. Genres don’t exist for whatever “Blinders” might be, but I’d be tempted to call it “Post Surf Rock”. It is the kind of thing you’d listen to on the beach after you’ve finished surfing or swimming. Sun shines on you as you sit, tired but happy staring blankly into the distance. That’s the kind of feeling I get from this expansive song. A melody comes out so sweet out of the distortion in the second part. Maybe the album could’ve begun with this, but it is nice having this as the logical conclusion of the first track.

                 “Silences” uses the effects to create the illusion of a rhythm where none exists. Later on the underlying sounds of “Silences” is used in “Keys” with its treated sounds. Guitars guide you out with the sweet song “Anxieties”. Here you actually are treated to the most straightforward approach, which seems to be distantly related to the earlier song “Vents”. 

                Everything connects well on this large EP/small album. I might need to explore the rest of this guy’s discography.    

Listen to it: Here

Dth – Young Heart Sounds 7.4

                Oh man, this is some woozy ambiance. The emotionally charged “Young Heart Sounds” allows you access into Devin Hildebrand’s life. It is weird, for you hear all these audio clips from his life. At times it feels voyeuristic. You don’t know quite what to make of what’s going on or of the rather intense sounds he uses. But you should know he’s pretty good at it, and that the album’s title should give you some indication of what you’re getting yourself into. 

                All of the songs have a certain unifying theme to them. Most of them have a sort of pulse unusual for ambiance. It feels on the verge of exploding at some parts, particularly the longer, later tracks. "Summer X” offers the greatest amount of noise and woozy effects. Towards the end of the song it feels as if the track is catching its own breath.

                Devin Hildebrand might be as honest as he can be when he calls himself a “Collage-People-Ambient” artist. All three of those elements can be easily found in his work. Having the ghostly transmissions of conversation adds to the power of the pieces. They are clearly people-focused, rather than obsessing about some sort of stale sonic rigor. These are very fast-paced ambient pieces. 

                Of course, this is free for download here by the wonderful people at Chinquapin Records. Interesting things are happening down in Louisiana.