Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Cassette Review: Moon Mann Otto Presents O.S.T. (ShanGORIL La Records)


[$5 // Edition of 50 // https://shangorillarecords.bandcamp.com/album/moon-mann-otto-presents-o-s-t]

In the interest of giving my reviews full honesty- because I feel like you should never lie to someone reading this because then they wouldn't read something you wrote again (See: "You said the new Modest Mouse was good, you asshole!!") but I'm not even sure whether the artist is named Moon Mann Ottoo or O.S.T. because on the Bandcamp page the artist spot has "O.S.T." in it and at one point a voice on this cassette does seem to introduce Moon Mann Otto... But, my point is that it doesn't matter because when I got this cassette and realized it was from ShanGORIL La Records I was immediately excited for it.

What begins with wounded bagpipes has space whirrs as well.   There are horns now and I give it the name of "sloppy jaloppy" because it reminds me of a certain car.  I can't think of it off hand, so you'll have to do the movie research (My mind is other places when it comes to movies right now), but it's one of those older Disney live action movies- probably with Dick Van Dyke- where the car makes so much noise it almost sounds like music.  I want to say "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" but that seems wrong and it could be something even more obvious like "The Gnome Mobile" or "Mary Poppins".   Either way, if you don't hear a car then just ignore all of that I guess.

As it the sound becomes dreamy there are drums and it shifts into this pattern of weird rock.   It's space trippy and then somehow quieter and begins to feel acoustic in a sense.   A drum machine brings out some combination of "Fraggle Rock" (in terms of bass lines) and Traffic- both the band and actually listening to a highway, which I do quite often (don't ask).   A saxophone comes out next and this is when the introduction I spoke of in the opening paragraph comes- which makes me think the artist is named Moon Mann Otto- and then we switch into big drums and guitar riffs.    Birds are chirping.   The sax is soulful.   And scale riffs bring about some psychedelic sounds I like to think of simply as space jazz.

On the second half we seem to find our rhythm to the extent that I can think of this more clearly based upon hearing and already digesting the first side.   Spacey whirrs combine with chaotic guitars and then it becomes a little distorted.   More of that sweet, sweet jazz sax and then someone begins talking.    Chaotic and clanking is an accurate way to describe how the second side ends and it's not so much a repeat of Side A as it is an extension of it.   Once you listen to Side A, everything will just fall into place so much better on Side B and then the more you listen to it after that the more it begins to make sense even if it never does quite fully make sense.











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