“Angry Album or Psychic Songs”, A Skeleton
“Angry Album or Psychic Songs”, A Skeleton , www.goodnightrecords.com, 2004
This CD by Knol Tate, aka Askeleton, does not sound angry. There is no darkness here at all, unless it is in the hard to understand lyrics. The songs might be psychic, whatever that means. Strange, hard to classify pop, definitely.
It sounds like Tate recorded some light pop tunes and then did some studio experimenting with the results. Except for some drums and, on one track, electric piano, Tate played all the instruments. The results are pretty good. For example:
“Queenie” is psychedelic pop backed by guitar and bass, with a background vocal sample and keyboard. “Birdman” is the closest song to rock, with guitar, bass, and drum, and some tinkering with the vocal track. “Futureman to Presentman” features Tate reciting lyrics Lou Reed style over a simple keyboard riff with space effects added.
On “Ghosts,” Tate sings in a falsetto that complements the light, almost bubblegum sound of the track. “I’m ten feet tall today/I was nine feet yesterday.”
Although many of the songs are based around simple guitar riffs, Tate seems to love keyboard. He uses many different settings to give a ghostly, strange quality to his tunes, which feature lyrics like the great opener to “Gemini”: “I want to burn down Cathedral Hill/Please kill me in my sleep.” Instead of drums, he sometimes uses simple things like handclaps to keep the rhythm.
This enhanced CD includes a well done video in .mpg format of Tate and his fellow musicians playing “Birdman” in the studio.
Askelton’s website at http://askeleton.net/ has the following slogan in oversized bold letters “Music is childish and stupid.” There is a childish, playful aspect to this thirteen-song CD. The songs here are simple without pretense. But they are far from being stupid. Even if you find his music a bit strange, you will appreciate Askelton’s ideas.
- Dave Howell
(This article first appeared in the FMSound music site.)
This CD by Knol Tate, aka Askeleton, does not sound angry. There is no darkness here at all, unless it is in the hard to understand lyrics. The songs might be psychic, whatever that means. Strange, hard to classify pop, definitely.
It sounds like Tate recorded some light pop tunes and then did some studio experimenting with the results. Except for some drums and, on one track, electric piano, Tate played all the instruments. The results are pretty good. For example:
“Queenie” is psychedelic pop backed by guitar and bass, with a background vocal sample and keyboard. “Birdman” is the closest song to rock, with guitar, bass, and drum, and some tinkering with the vocal track. “Futureman to Presentman” features Tate reciting lyrics Lou Reed style over a simple keyboard riff with space effects added.
On “Ghosts,” Tate sings in a falsetto that complements the light, almost bubblegum sound of the track. “I’m ten feet tall today/I was nine feet yesterday.”
Although many of the songs are based around simple guitar riffs, Tate seems to love keyboard. He uses many different settings to give a ghostly, strange quality to his tunes, which feature lyrics like the great opener to “Gemini”: “I want to burn down Cathedral Hill/Please kill me in my sleep.” Instead of drums, he sometimes uses simple things like handclaps to keep the rhythm.
This enhanced CD includes a well done video in .mpg format of Tate and his fellow musicians playing “Birdman” in the studio.
Askelton’s website at http://askeleton.net/ has the following slogan in oversized bold letters “Music is childish and stupid.” There is a childish, playful aspect to this thirteen-song CD. The songs here are simple without pretense. But they are far from being stupid. Even if you find his music a bit strange, you will appreciate Askelton’s ideas.
- Dave Howell
(This article first appeared in the FMSound music site.)