THE MYRIAD ONES “The Hardest Part” C37 (Already Dead Tapes)




[Yanks door open, slamming it against the wall, nearly ripping it off its hinges]

What’s going on here?! This Bob Bucko joint is NOT experimental, and I don’t know what to think anymore. My perspective has been turned upside down, and there just aren’t enough appletinis in the world in which to drown my confusion and frustration. If only there was a way that this music could soothe the savage beast within…

Oh wait, so this Myriad Ones tape is actually pretty good, preconceptions notwithstanding. Actually, who NEEDS experimental when you’ve got the hooks that The Myriad Ones have got! And it’s not just Bob, Storm Ross is on guitar, lending a fuzzy-ass hand to these actual power pop tunes – yes, ACTUAL power pop tunes! Ranging from the trebly new wave of “La Luv” to the Yo La Tengo-with-a-flying-V of “Pretty Things” to the Echo and the Bunnymen-esque “Butterfield” and the … oh, you get it. The Myriad Ones have you covered for every car ride that lasts thirty-seven minutes … or longer, if you want to repeat it. You might just want to do that.

Featuring guest turns by rapper Darko the Super (nice turn on “Stark”!) and Kristina Castañeda (nice turn on “Let’s Take Care of Each Other,” “Moonfight,” and “Better to Forget”!), The Myriad Ones take a collaborative approach, indeed crediting each song to “whoever played on ’em” – including Jeremy Edwards, whose drumming appeared on three tracks (you didn’t think we’d forget you, Jeremy?!). Everything on “The Hardest Part” just seems to fit together, yet effortlessly, like when you start a puzzle and you open up the box and half of it’s together already because the last person forgot to break it apart. And while I find the puzzle thing supremely goddamn annoying, it works perfectly well in the context of music. So … there, ok?

Why don’t you ask the dog on the cover how he feels, if you don’t believe me? “Ruff ruff! Ryriad Rones’ ‘Rardest Rart’ ris rerightful! RRRRrreal reat! Ruff ruff!”

I told you.

Oh, and, uh, sorry about the door.

Already Dead Tapes

--Ryan