Labels: Life on an Island
Review by: Edward Ling
With a sound that suggests it’s been deliberately recorded with the microphone in the toilet (and initially difficult), this is a bit like what you imagine would result if you somehow managed to keep Beck acoustic for an entire album. The second solo release by Alex Gentile (of the New York Garage Punk outfit For Serious this Time), this has East Village slacker boho-style oozing from its pores. Underneath all the distortion there are host of subtle stylistic and structural variations – some tracks are more folky (If I was heard), some more orthodox lo fi-ish (East Coast), some plain odd (People that hate you), and some country – the Hank Williams cover (Lonesome Whistle) is nice touch.
If I had to categorise this it would be “lo-fi, no doubt, but there is a definite “edge’ – occasional vocal snarls and sharp turns of phrase – that personally I always found lacking in, say, the greater J Mascis school or the Stephen Malkmus canon. As this is lo fi though it should nonetheless be rated more on sincerity and atmosphere than grunt and energy. And atmosphere – and style – it certainly has. Antihistamine Suite and High Rises are actually quite beautiful. I also particularly commend the guy for the careful use of sampling that adds to the textured and ultimately immersive soundscape that he’s created here “” and that marks this out from the current algal bloom of singer songwriter acts.