you might have seen Ken, Kenny, Kenneth Gilmore's live hands moving from guitar to creepy synthesizer & back in Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti. did he come up with that added riff in their cover of "Bright Lit Blue Skies?" anyway, Anina's not on the stage but in the studio, in that kind of vague, Surf's Up-era Beach Boys studio where all things technical are so assured that there's room for the weirdest pitch mysteries & dissonant consonances. "Anina" is a really subtle song. as its parts repeat & develop, Gilmore tries out different guitar phrasings, and leaves behind incredibly attractive hooks that the song could be about. the end result is a confident lounge vibe that fades out after all the "band members" each have their moment to shine. Gilmore really plays like he's different people, and maybe he is.
the b-side "Thick Leaves" is a kind of stunted jam, with a great-because-too-quiet synth/organ lead melody playing coy as a nasty piano bass & drum machine rhythm section chug along. Gilmore doot-doots along like he's conducting the band. water sounds, sniffs, coughs, room and street sounds: sounds of real life filter in not really as "part of the noise" but as if the track is scoring an invisible movie.
great cassingle. hopefully this guy records more because his writing and playing are exciting. this was also the inaugural release on Dischotheque (think they're up to DTQ003 now), who are already MVPs in the cassette mansion.
go to discotheque records' website for a preview of the main event.
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