Album of the Week: Gobble Gobble - Neon Graveyard

In an era where file-sharing basically encompasses the whole of how new musical artists are discovered, its refreshing to hear about artists brought to light by more unconventional means. Neon Graveyard, the debut album from Gobble Gobble (musical project of Edmonton's Cecil Frena) achieved circulation through copies of cassettes! The record itself is as unique and characteristic as it means of distribution. Frena's sound collages parallel works by Dan Deacon in that both use crashing cymbals and 8-bit video evoking beeps. However, while Deacon's works have been the musical equivalent of a sugar rush, Gobble Gobble's sounds are much more subdued and low key. The opening track "Meteor Eschat" sets the tone perfectly; minimalist, sweet, with pulsating bass, undulating guitars and tape-hiss abounding while Frena's fuzzed-out falsetto floats along underneath the barrage of noise. Its all surprisingly beautiful and the album is chock full melodies and hooks, but it is the layers of the album that are truly enticing. After a couple of spins you'll notice the cello playing in the background, the caw of bird from field recordings beneath the beats, the type of hidden sounds that only someone truly vested in their craft could pull off. Although the album often focus upon themes of death and decay, but it does so with a sense of humour as if laughing in the face of the inevitable (titles like "O Sacred Dandruff" are evidence enough to this). What Frenca has yielded with Neon Graveyard is a touching, often funny, often intelligent, and ever affecting record. Brilliant stuff.

Listen To: Alabaster Bodyworlds, Meteor Eschat, O Sacred Dandruff

RIYL: Dan Deacon, Xiu Xiu, Black Moth Super Rainbow