Sometimes you get a hankering for some lo-fi experimental indie folk,
don’t you? You’re sitting there, eating lunch, drinking from your grape juice
box, and then you’re like, “Hey, where the heck did I put all my tapes? The
ones that I made on my Tascam. Let’s master those!”
Mason Mercer has a knack for making the studio, or “studio” depending
on where he actually did the recording, work to his advantage, piling on all
kinds of effects that mask the basic guitar-and-vocal tracks underneath. He’s
pretty inventive, and on God’s Creatures he
pushes his limitations to their logical extremes. It’s a bit Sebadoh (with
Loewenstein at the helm), a bit early Beck (without the rap), a bit Animal
Collective (without the insane outward expressions or kitchen-sink approach to
electronics). So those are some positives.
God’s Creatures is quite
listenable, and fairly unassuming. It doesn’t often get in your face. I read a
review name-dropping Monster Magnet and Marilyn Manson. I just have to say –
what? I think you were listening to the wrong tape dude. Whatevs.
I could take a moment to dig into the lyrics, but after a quick scan,
I’ve decided I’m not reading them. I’m not really a lyric guy, and if they’re bad,
they’ll pretty much spoil the whole thing for me. These might be bad. I have no
idea though. Read at your own risk. I have a feeling they’re too serious and
will spoil the mood.
--Ryan Masteller