
walt – anon. #11
walt is an interesting musical project, and one difficult to pin down. But, being that this is a music review, this is precisely what we’ll be attempting. Our disclaimer, however, is that this is by no means an exhaustive definition of what this Melbourne dream-pop project is all about.
anon. #11 sounds like Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous believing his destiny to be to rewrite Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands. By that, I mean that a) It’s quite a complex tune in terms of lyric-writing. And b) It goes on for ages. This would have probably been stretched out in the age of vinyl for a few more minutes and given its own side.
This dream-pop excursion is best enjoyed while also watching the accompanying video. It shows a masked character strolling mysteriously through various places on a hot summer’s day. There’s no beginning or ending to this, but just like the slow buildup of the music, it’s intriguing.
anon. #11 sounds like poetry sung over the accompaniment of a broken child’s piano.
Robert Connelly Farr – Cadillac Problems
The American blues goes in and out of style but remains at the heart of most modern music. Robert Connely Farr is one of the men who’ve decided to give the blues a kicking back into the spotlight.
His weapons of choice on Cadillac Problems, as well as most of his music, are the classic blues song structures placed against tight grooves, misty vocals, and a sense of overwhelming longing.
Cadillac Problems could and should earn Farr the respect of the blues conservatives. Yet, clearly, the musician has been keeping an eye on rock radio’s preferences in recent years and has absorbed the tricks of the artists that have kept a revamped version of the blues in the public eye. The result is a soulful, modern take on the old sound of the troubled and the downcast.