AMBERGRIS "Sherlock Holmes and the Large Door" (Potlatch, I Gather) C20

Ambergris is the solo project of comic artist Matthew Thurber, the saxophonist in the now- defunct new age jazz band, Soiled Mattress and the Springs. This tape is the follow up to the amazing (and sadly out of print) "Anti Matter Alma Mater". Like the previous album it has a "book on tape" feel, with soundtrack and sound effects.

The A side is the title piece; a surreal story from the unreleased Sherlock Holmes archives. The detective, who we find is prone to walking about "on all fours like a mastiff", attempts to enter a sealed door lined with speared onions. It is refreshing to find a young artist working with actual ideas in this world of visceral and, sometime questionable, entertainments. Although this tale lacks the narrative scope of "Alma Mater" (it is about 1/4 as long), it is something I've returned to again and again whenever I'm sick of music.

The B side is a pair of Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 covers. It's cool to hear someone doing Fellers music faithfully and accurately in this day and age. If by some chance this is your first time encountering this seminal 90's SF band, please do not hesitate to check out some of their stellar albums, which are still available in various formats.

check it all out at http://www.ambergriscomics.com
and be sure to pick up the new issue of "1-800 Mice" as well.

AMBERGRIS: “Anti-Matter Alma Mater” (Potlatch, I Gather Tapes)

To continue with George’s theme of label debuts, along comes Matthew Thurber’s Potlatch, I Gather, a tape label dedicated to releasing “books on tape”, radio-play type stories with musical backgrounds of Thurber’s own creation. This first release was used as the soundtrack to an art exhibit of the same name done in collaboration with Rebecca Bird and appearing in both Switzerland and Brooklyn last year. It follows the story of a character named Charles who returns to his old school, the Carrot University of Time Travel, for a class reunion. He begins talking to an old classmate and former girlfriend, a twin made of crystal, who tries to jog his amnesia-affected memory of his past, but he continues to only draw a blank as his frontal lobe has been stolen, presumably by a third, malcontented classmate. With bells and chimes reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons audio adventures, and Thurber’s distinct brand of Beefheart calypso, he spins this tale of desperation on side one. But on side two, entitled “Wormhole”, he stays strictly musical and details through his lyrics how, as he writes, “the same characters find themselves trapped in a Wormhole for all eternity, due to poor study skills”. Although the overlaps of voices can become confusing at times, the story is still relatively straightforward and, being adept at keyboard, ukulele, and saxophone, the composition of the music proves itself as remarkably proficient.

If you still can’t follow the story, you can pick up one of his comics, which oftentimes contain stories involving the same characters and concepts from Picturebox books. If you still can’t figure out what’s going on after that, I don’t know what to tell you.

Comes with xerox insert and paint pen, hand-decorated tapes.

http://www.ambiguousmass.org/
http://www.myspace.com/ambergrisjr