Attic Fowler - City Hall (2015)

It seems it won't ever warm up in the in the Midwestern United States this year. It lightly snowed in late April, a phenomenon I've seen all my life yet everyone seems shocked and appalled at it's occurrence. However, I am starting to get on board with this outspoken disbelief as I'm sitting my barely 50°F apartment in mid-May. The Milwaukee musician known as Attic Fowler will most likely be able to relate to this unseasonably brisk spring experience from across Lake Michigan.

Despite the colder temperatures here, I'm unwilling to yield in my attempts to adopt summertime activities, in which sitting on my modest balcony and having a drink while I try to winnow down the backlog of submitted albums. And while the sun still saw fit to shine some warming rays on me I got to throughly enjoy the shimmering dream pop of Attic Fowler's City Hall. Fitting neatly between fuzzy psych-pop, jangle pop and abstract folk, he's hit upon a well-engineering sound for porch musing. There's even wind chimes introducing the tracks "My Mountain House" and "My Mtn House," and yes those are two different versions of a song curiously back to back in the middle of the album. Can't get more spot on than a strangely echoing version of what you just heard speaking of blissful notion such as mountain home in Tennessee (I think that is that word he's saying at least). It's very much the sort of album to hear from start to finish, allowing the varying sound to carry you through most pleasant journey. Nevertheless, look out for how awesome he songs "Shadowing," "Day Dreamer" and most especially "Tieppertien." Boy howdy, I love that "Tieppertien." The real gem that song is I have a feeling this is the sort of album that repeated listening will yield new favorites.

City Hall has been released via Fall Break Records, based in Athens, GA like the just previously posted Arnold Fish album from G.O.D. Records. Naturally we cannot be surprised that the ever-musically active Athens is issuing so many excellent records so be sure to check out the other Fall Break releases I've gotten a chance to write up.

To be had here:
Attic Fowler - City Hall

Steve Palmer - Fables of the Feral Boys + Unreleased (2015)

The man from Minneapolis is back with some more American Primitivism. For the second time appearance of Steve Palmer on SRM, following his Unblinking Sun LP, what we've got here is an EP combined with previously unreleased material being issued on a cassette for our pleasure by Fall Break Records. The same enterprise that brought us Full Crumb.

Steve Palmer is the sort of musician I feel anyone with a coherently thinking mind should relish, however a background on how this isn't folk music as you might assume is always helpful. I've gone over the love for the music of that John Fahey many times on this blog and on the podcast, and in my write up of Unblinking Sun pointed out the degree of his influence on Palmer's style. I could go on at length regarding this topic, but I'll restrict myself to saying Palmer shares Fahey's vision of combing America's traditional music of folk, blues, country and layering on healthy and enchanting experimentation that can only be accomplished so elegantly through absolutely amazing skill and insight. Fans of psychedelic and drone should recognize the kinship of these genres with what the mesmerizing and experimenting guitar playing achieves here. Those into the blues and folk with hear the fast-picking method that only the greatest musicians execute properly. Hence the name American Primitivism, taking our musical legacy back to a primordial sound such to muck around with it anew. Steve Palmer has shown himself to be an excellent purveyor of this idea. I'd say there isn't a note, or echoing drone for that matter, that he plays in these songs I'm not enthralled to hear.

To be had here:

Steve Palmer - Fables of the Feral Boys + Unreleased

P.S. I feel I'd be remiss without mentioning that Palmer isn't alone in his Fahey-esque sound. Do check out another contemporary American Primitive player hailing from France, Magnus Dewi, who got written up back in July.

Full Crumb - Maelstrom Protocol (2014)

Full Crumb are from the United Kingdom, not sure where exactly, as I wasn't told. Yet through an unknown series of events is being issued on cassette and digitally by the Athens, GA-based label Fall Break Records. However, after listening to Full Crumb's output, I can understand why they'd be eager to release it.

Maelstrom Protocol is a particularly tricky albums to describe. It really is the sort of thing that is best experienced without too much preface and pondered about by the listener for days afterwards during the likely sessions of re-listening. Truly a whole range of genres are applicable to the Maelstrom Protocol, being in near equal measure krautrock, British new wave, psychedelic, experimental pop and shitgaze. Perhaps the only caught-all term that works is art rock, but as we all know that doesn't tell you much about the songs really sounds. Let's put it this way, there's something of Orange Juice or the Fire Engines sort of Scottish late-80s thing, strange audio clips serving as intros, dreamy pop numbers, and an overall feeling perverted reverence throughout. Go on, have a listen.

To be had here:
Full Crumb - Maelstrom Protocol