DORCAS MORTON “People I’ve Never Met” (Physics Engine)

Can you imagine if The Books, both Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong, recorded an album with Wes Anderson? Me neither! I’ve got some great news, though, in case a pairing like that strikes you the right way. Dorcas Morton, the fake-ass name of Boston’s Brian Paulding, releases music that sounds exactly like that. Paulding uses all kinds of instruments within a home-recorded paradigm, and enlists his pals Clap and Willard on a couple of tracks to help out with spoken-word story-vocals, or, uh, chainsaw. And clarinet.

The tape is awesome, because I love me some Books, so it’s right up my alley to begin with. It’s folky, it’s collage-y, and it features lots of samples of people – presumably the people Dorcas Morton has never met (the title!). Paulding even calls People “a tape for tinkerers,” and there’s no way anyone can argue with that. It sounds like there’s a lot of minute detail he sweated over. Composing these songs must have been a lot of fun. And I’m not even a spoken word/poetry fan in any sense, yet I did enjoy the excursions down those paths. The whole thing just makes me happy a lot, and a grin this big can’t go unnoticed. Here you go, I’m sharing it with you! J)))))))))))

It’s also from 2013, so it’s a straggler – give it some extra love.

http://thephysicsengine.blogspot.com/

http://dorcasmorton.com/

http://dorcasmorton.bandcamp.com/album/people-ive-never-met-2

--Ryan Masteller

DORCAS MORTON“Service Animal” C45 (Physics Engine)

If my heart, mind, and soul weren’t already blackened by the academic noise-worship I’ve been obsessed with over the last few years, this here guy would make me feel F-E-E-L-I-N-G-S & shit, with all his dead serious weaving of humor, sentimentality, conversational snippets, minimal beats poetry & laid back instrumental jams that at times recall the mellowest Shipping News tracks, but often explore lazier/jazzier Sunday afternoon memoryscapes. This American Life could probably do well to pay this guy to provide the sonic backdrop for about a million more shows to come. Writing a memoir and having a hard time digging up those saccharine vignettes? Here’s some sense-stimuli that oughta dust off the ol’ dendrites! Whenever full on songs make an appearance, sincerity is sung such that jaded eyes might roll like hamster wheels, which is a nice break from the ubiquitous sarcasm of life portrayed in this ‘information age’, at least for me, with my blackened heart, mind, and soul, which are now slightly softer, if not simply decomposing at an accelerated pace.

https://dorcas-morton.squarespace.com/home#albums

and/or

http://thephysicsengine.blogspot.com/

- - Jacob An Kittenplan

rawmean - "Sea Mister" (Physics Engine)

Sea Mister by rawmean is a sneaky bastard of a cassette! The live in a single take compositions succeed where they should fail. Live looping is a tight rope. One has to have a strong sense of structure (or editorial control over themselves!) or the music becomes tedious drone. Sometimes loops, fucked with enough that is, can be crazy, glory noise that lead to the void, but the tunes on this tape are actually quite beautiful and even pleasantly danceable. The seven-minute "Tupper" is a trip and it ends so quickly! I could've gone for another five spot on that one. "On Dancetron" is also a weird (in a good way) track because at first it seems like boring, looping bells, but boils to a groove. The art on the tape is cool too. The colors and layout compliment the vibe and I'm digging it. 

Buy and Listen HERE.

follow me on twitter: @teflonbeast

Duck You Sucker - "The Best Nice Fantastic Music Techno" (Physics Engine Records)

Great album - TERRIBLE title-kinda terrible group name. Duck You Sucker's The Best Nice Fantastic Music Techno is easily the worst title this tape could have gotten. I didn't want to listen to it, but I did of course and I'm glad. Imagine The Stooges and Atoms of Peace sharing a rehearsal space...(I believe the band's "Fast Clouds" even quotes "I Wanna Be Your Dog"). The music of Duck You Sucker is a stellar blend of electronics, jazz/rock, Krautrock, psychedelic jamming, wild rhythms, and weird sounds. Instrumentally this is just wonderful listening. Enough surprises are contained within to excite even the most cynical music nerd. A brief lead vocal on "Zoo" gets wrapped up in the atmosphere of sound exploration and doesn't come across as lead singer singing so much as just another piece of found audio, not my favorite track, but it works here. Basically, this is nice, fantastic music...

Buy and Listen HERE.