Skiprope Cello Dives With Zelda (2015 debut EP review)

Here at Potluck Suicide, there's been much anticipation for the release of the first studio EP by a band we follow call SKIPROPE CELLO. We've had access to their demos, we've sat in on some appearances, and well, houston, we finally have contact. Why should we be kindred spirits with them? Consider that their influences include:

Dostoevsky, Steely Dan, F.S. Fitzgerald, The Clash, Henry James, Potluck Suicide, Gary Numan, James Joyce, Daniel Amos, Fellini, Marc Plainguet, CS Lewis, The Residents, George Bernard Shaw, Al Jolson, Atom Bender, Chopin, Captain Beefheart, TS Elliot, Bob Dylan, Ultravox, Scott Joplin, Mark Krischak, Anthony Trollope, The Strokes, Kraftwerk, Bill Mallonee, Franz Kafka (as noted at SOUNDCLOUD found right here 

So what's not to like?  

Their 2015 debut album release "Diving with Zelda" is based on the writings of F.S Fitzgerald and portrays the ironic nuances of the not quite there yet but trying attitudes of the 1920s roaring jet-setters. The style is, how shall we say ... indefinable. Even one early listener on SOUNDCLOUD notes ... "whoa, I've never heard anything like this" (-from DREWZY PIEK PROMO PAGE). The three piece California/Iowa band describes their music genre as an eclectic mix of alternative, lo-fi, techno, lounge, punk-jazz. Confused yet? Why not just enjoy? The loungy, lo-fi opener "Birds" - replete with vintage Fender Rhodes and moog synth sounds - is a great place to get initiated:




After a wonderfully random scurry of words and noise in "This Side of Minnesota" resolving around a melodic, chorus, out-tro "ragtime kids, flappers, jazz-women, baby-vamps" the EP throws the listener a curve-ball with a hyper-ditty entitled "High Point." The song has quickly been noticed as a favorite from the band on SOUNDCLOUD. Check it out for yourself:




 Following some obtuse, yet enjoyably literate, jazzy mutterings in "Old St. Paul" a listener thinks the artists might be figured out, and then they spring (or should we say summer?)  on us our personal favorite song on the album, the garage-esque, retro-synth punk - into - light jazz number "Divers of the Riviera." The theme of the song is said to be based on a fictitious couple known as the Divers in F.S. Fitzgerald's lesser known book "Tender is the Night." The words and feel become infectious, and mirror-like in an ironic way for the modern listener. What is lo-fi, punk-jazz? Try it on for yourself:


An acapella reprise wraps up the experience, and we look forward to future jumps with Skiprope (you can pick up their album at BANDCAMP by going HERE. 

(We will soon be reviewing their terrific debut VIDEO as produced by WORST KITCHEN RECORDS). Until then, here's a link to check it out for yourselves.

                                    (art work by meg smiley design: http://www.megsmiley.com/)

PRIVATE MEN - Indie Band from Israel

NEW BAND ... worth checking out - PRIVATE MEN. Sort of a modern, alternative "Pet Sounds" vibe. Maintains edge, yet is ethereal. Brian Wilson meets Doves. Link to Bandcamp can be found here. Their own website can be found right here. Oh, yeah, and they're from Tel Aviv in Israel.


Happy listening.


-Francis Itch and PS

PEENO - This Microphone is Broken

 So we ventured a number of months ago upon the wonderfully brilliant SAMPLER by Worst Kitchen Records and were so moved by the insanely abstract "BIG AND BAD" by PEENO, our good friends at Bad Itch Productions went ahead and produced a fan film in honor of this audio masterpiece (see below):

                                          
PEENO's album This Microphone is Broken is no less remarkable. We venture in our collected memories back to college, when we'd invite a group of people to a dorm room to lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling. With thrift store-purchased, lighted, decorative balls mounted in the corners of the room - we'd listen to David Lynch's ERASERHEAD soundtrack. There was mostly silence among us until some of the weak-minded would ceremoniously announce "we can't take it anymore." This is at least a ballpark description of the listening experience discovered in PEENO's This Microphone.... How might we ascribe to it a sub-genre of music category? Let's see - how about: 

70s Industrial Cartoon (?)

The fact is, the album breaks out of brackets in description defiance. Try to think of shades of the audio track for the classic "B" film Logan's Run (one of our absolute favorites), mixed in with occasional rhythm grooves and noises from 70s kitsch. While we love "Don't Play Ball in the House" our favorite track has to be the irrepressible "Wilkinson Funkmaster 2000," which conjures up something of a cross between a groovy, beat-nick gathering with the leftovers from a train wreck at a shopping mall. What can we say: We LOVE IT. In all, YOU will love it, too, if you keep your mind strong (and open). 

Pick up your own copy of PEENO's TMIB by going right here (if you can take it... ). 

Rumor has it PEENO is inches away from having a 2nd album recorded, and we'll be waiting with much anticipation.

 -PS

    

Why GRAND is still Matt and Kim's Best Album

GRAND remains the best album by Matt and Kim. We have reasons for standing firm on this. Bands so often start with a bang - like a firecracker in a garage. Then, they begin to venture into the house, with a few tech toys, while still working in the garage. Too often, at some juncture, they leave the garage completely, never to return again.

Hence, Matt and Kim. Their rare, lo-fi debut - is really good. It's a firecracker in the garage (yeah yeah!). But then there's GRAND - venturing in and out of the garage. Songs slightly more polished, but still raw. Like very early post-punk. It's just... terrific. With LIGHTNING, they moved into the house. Unlike others, we actually feel there are elements we like better on NEW GLOW as compared to LIGHTNING. The experiments are bolder. Yeah "GET IT" is a pop song but GET over IT. So what?

But GRAND is still the grandest.

Just give "Lessons Learned" a re-listen, and learn your lesson.

-PS