I wonder, when it comes down to it, how much of anything we say to one
another, including the stories we tell, is real. ModuS ponY came into
possession of a mysterious notebook, filled with all kinds of things: grocery
lists, Spanish lessons, weird poetry … musical ideas. ModuS ponY tracked down
the compiler of the notebook, a man named “Richard Something” (obviously fake),
and got handed a bunch of tales of the “fractured 1970’s avant-garde scene in
and around Los Angeles.” Turns out Richard Something is a bit of an
unappreciated genius, so much so that people took his ideas and built careers
based on them … or, uh something like
that. Also, he took these people to court. And unequivocally lost every case.
ModuS ponY, perhaps sensing that he was pretty much in the clear
legally (beyond his legal losses, Something seems to be the kind of “bullshit”
peddler we should all be wary of), decided to create some of the musical ideas
discussed in the pages of the notebook – well, he was at least inspired by them. Whether the stories
were true or not, they were good, and moduS ponY wasn’t about to waste a good
freak-pop jam sesh. So he hunkered down and cranked out Ulterior Frequencies, a paean to the heady days of LA art
experimentalism. It’s a sneaky noir document shot through with German science
jazz, proggy but not indulgent, cinematic but not incidental. As is the moduS ponY
way, he’s able to stick with the concept throughout the tape’s entirety,
punctuating the tunes with snippets of conversation here and there – samples from
Hollywood’s freaky age? Maybe.
Can’t exactly be sure what moduS ponY is telling us. What if he even
made Richard Something up, or even – gasp! – the notebook itself? The good news
is that it probably doesn’t matter, because your enjoyment of Ulterior Frequencies does not depend on
things like “accuracy” or “truth.” It does depend on moduS ponY’s compositional
skill, and in this we have no doubt. He is able to spin yarns and tall tales of
the city and the night, of characters of ranging nefariousness, of scenes where
ideas germinate and bloom, no matter how sideways or unnaturally. Beneath it
all beats the heart of a weirdo, keeping an eye out for other weirdos. Weirdos
like you and me.
https://moduspony.bandcamp.com/
https://strategictapereserve.bandcamp.com/
--Ryan
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