RESTAURNAUT"When The Hue Was More" (Almost Halloween Time Records)(Kerchow!)(Stagnant Fjord Recordings)

Restaunaut is defined as “One who very commonly eats out, and is recognized easily by waitstaff.” It is also the alias for Nick Dolezal of Fresno, CA. This cassette falls roughly in the middle of his discography which include 14 albums, most of them recorded over the past year or so. Most of his work is pretty freak-folky, heavy on acoustic guitar, and I believe, ukulele and xylophone. This tape however, seems more focused on squeezing the last few decibels from a dying keyboard. For the most part, it works as quirkiness is well complemented by Daniel Johnston style vocals. It is worth noting the important difference, that the vocals here are more deliberate; like he’s writing songs because he wants to rather than Johnston writing songs because he has to – though the songs are no worse for the distinction.

One other thing I would point out is the questionable decision to passively brag about stealing from a charitable organization in the liner notes. He does this while referring to a sample he uses of a boy singing lifted from a tape, which in turn was lifted from Goodwill. How this bold move will play out in the national press remains to be seen, but I’m willing to forgive him as I know from experience that Fresno, CA is a terrible, terrible place.

There are some pretty solid pop melodies here. The highlights are “The Little Man” on Side A and “Pin Missile” on Side B ,which is like a symphony-to-scale compared to the rest of the cassette. The one real lull is the song “Spittoon” on Side B. I’m not sure what the point of the song is but maybe you can figure it out. Fans of Son of Salami and superfans of Ariel Pink are very likely to enjoy this album.

http://restaurnaut.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-hue-was-more

--Travis Long

The handwritten note that came with this tape said "I am Restaurnaut and I make horse music."  Just thought that might be helpful... -ed.