Tuesday, July 2, 2013

MP3 REVIEW: Abandoned Houses "Untitled Spirals" (Rok Lok Records)

Free to Stream only right now

            You know how you always see song titles and wonder “Is that a cover of the song I know, or is it just a coincidence?”  I’m pretty certain that I’ve detailed my opinion about it on several different occasions, and, alas, I will most likely continue to do so in the future as well.

            That being said, the first thing that stuck out to me about these five songs was the third track having the name “What’s My Age Again?”.   Anyone who grew up in the age of Blink 182 (Well, I was in my later teens when Dude Ranch struck) would immediately make the connection, and yes, this is a solo acoustic sort of cover of that very song.  If nothing else, some pop punk kids should stumble across this cover and then potentially be turned on to the rest of this album.

            In its simplest roots, Abandoned Houses is a singer/songwriter (Sorry whoever posted that article to Twitter, singer/songwriter is still a genre), bedroom, lo-fi type of sound.   But what makes them (him) so much more than everyone else you hear is that Abandoned Houses isn’t just a clever name, it is in fact a gimmick that this guy has taken on and I believe really embraced.

            Much like the first skateboarders (Watch a movie) would go around and skate in empty pools when no one was home, this guy goes around, finds empty houses (Presumably vacant, not houses where the residents are merely on vacation or at work for the afternoon) and records these songs there.  
            If that isn’t random and unique enough for you than I don’t know what is because in many ways that very concept offers an entirely new level and story to each of these songs individually. 

No comments:

Post a Comment