 Jeremy
From Boise
"It's Called Finishing" CD
Fort
Hazel / Losing Blueprint
/ Sao Bento Music / Samsa
Records
Genres: lo-fi, acoustic pop, experimental pop
Mar 29 - Apr 4 2004 |
It's Called Finishing is the type of album I can never get
enough of. Jeremy From Boise (also known as A Radio
With Guts) is an absolute champion of needly, angled acoustic pop
music. His fingers sound as if they've been made to pluck
all those notes that sound like their wrong but work so perfectly
together nonetheless. On this four-label release's fifteen songs, he uses
very little more than his guitar and his voice - but somehow, I never
become bored with it. His songs may often be morose and slow,
but on this pleasant Sunday morning I could want nothing more. It's
Called Finishing is a thinking album, a collection of songs that you can lie back
and daydream to. "My Golden Balls" is quite exemplary of the Jeremy
From Boise sound. A subtle melody is planned, and then sung
nearly atonally under a complex puzzle of clinky, usually minor-key
guitar plucks, designed to win over the listener note by bote. The effect is unusual, but will prove to be
eye-opening for the true enthusiast of abnormal pop music. The
'epic' "Misery Palace", the almost twangy "Dull
Grey", and the creepy "Someditch" are also
standouts. The finale, "Fear Is A Good Thing," could
be the album's best song.
Despite all the guitar-and-vocal tunes, there are also quite a few
instrumentals. "The 2/3 Least Reciprocated" is a study
in bizarro melody, while "The First Subdivision" messes
around with a weird sound sample.
This is a very good album, and one that should garner a lot more
attention than it likely will. If needly, obscure experimental
pop sounds good to you, It's Called Finishing needs to be in
your collection.
88%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 15 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |
