Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Scott Tuma - Not for Nobody (A)


Gorgeously deconstructed folk/country, all guitar twang, creaks and chimes, haunting off in the distant piano, tape pop and hiss, beautiful drones, childlike female vocals and various sound samples. Kind of like returning to some deserted homestead on the western plains to find everything all dilapidated and run down, everything nostalgic, evoking long gone memories, the sun shining through the cracks in the ceiling, lighting the dust kicked up by your feet. Yeah, kind of like that. Only just imagine that put to music and you just about have Scott Tumas "Not for Nobody". There are some suprises for those who have heard Tumas other two albums. The first track "Nobody (river of tin)" for example (and the last track) features vocals which sound like they had been sped up, resulting in that "chipmunk" voice, not to imply that they were actually sped up only that it has that same sound. Suprisingly it works quite well and is actually rather moving. Those of course being draped over that finger picked lilting, creaking, chiming loveliness with some sounds of a car being started up and driving off in the background. And as for other suprises, you might just recognize the melody to the fourth track "Tiktaalik", which is essentially a cover of that song you've probably heard sung around a campfire, that instantly memorable "ol doo da day". My memory fails me as to what the exact name of the song is. The rest of the record follows suit with the same kind of loveliness put forth by the first few tracks. Already one of my favorites of 2008 and i'm sure it'll be the only one to evoke sun dappled evenings of abandoned prairie house wandering!

Also of note, Tuma used to play in the brilliant Souled American, check them out too !

Available through Digitalis Industries.

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