Mr. Matt Northrup from North Carolina fools us with the manic guitars a la My Bloody Valentine introduction to the album’s first track, but “World of Taste” soon begins to resemble old-school ’80s synth music, with all the optimism of early electronic music retained (the pioneers of the genre seemed so sure technology would make our life so much better). In the album’s second track “Pluralizing” he surprises us once again making directionless (compliment!) but calming ambient guitar music, the soundtrack to a walk in the forest. We keep listening, intrigued by the artist’s adventurous spirit, and in the brief “Gentlemen Callers” we are treated to Steve Reich-like minimalism, which soon turns into a rainbow of guitar and keyboard sounds as Northrup seems to get bored with his own music when it’s too disciplined.
The more esoteric “Song A” is a meditative experience that unfortunately doesn’t last long, but the drone in the background more than makes up for its brevity. A majestic drum sound serves as a fabulous bridge to “Club Hugs” which is certainly more rhythmic than most of the album’s tracks, but it wouldn’t be played in any clubs any time soon (and despite the name it certainly doesn’t intend to be played in such an environment). The optimism mentioned above is present here as well, and I have the suspicion that it is the result of not taking himself or his music too seriously, which can only be a good thing.
The album’s penultimate track “Regret to Feel Regret” seems to be the album’s most ambitious, but it remains playful, and experimental in its own funky way, a playfulness that reminds of ’90s lo-fi bands such as Pavement or Sebadoh. The tools used 15 years later from young men and women with cool ideas and no ambitions to climb the charts have changed somewhat. A wider set of influences, and a world where computers, iPads, smartphones etc. have trained our ears differently, are all changing the music made by such artists; but the creative spirit is still the same. This isn’t an album that will turn the world of music upside down, and it could have been a lot better if the artist was willing his to let his compositions expand to something more than vignettes of sound, but it’s surely fresh and as hard as you may try to play spot-the-influence (and you saw how hard I tried) it really doesn’t sound like anything else, or at least not more than a few seconds. (John Kontos)
a closer listen 