Several once deemed "lo-fi" projects have, over the course of their careers, decided to step forward out of the haze and charm of their low-budget recording equipment. However, one particular New Zealand project thrives on the fidelity of his recordings while providing an aberrant sense of innocence within the music as well, known as Rotate The Completor. In comparison to his local contemporary Pumice, the artistic process can be heard within every track on Rotate The Completors. The tape hiss is in full force, the technical difficulties are unabashedly present, and you'll be graced with a five second gap from when the performance ends to once the "stop" button is pressed.
Sound quality aside, Rotate The Completor presents minimal, simplified and whimsical amusement park (geared towards the 3-8-year-old range) music composed by an electric guitar amplified at, most likely, 15 watts as well as some ragtag percussion. From the carousel-appropriate noodling of the sixth song to the square-dance wah galloping of the ninth track; the chord progressions are catchy, though frivolous. I would liken the vocals to Fat Worm of Error, but if a less contemporary comparison were to be made, maybe Justin Cotton's vocals on Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica classic, "Pena" would be a better fit. The vocals are also where the only deterrence becomes present; the fidelity causes the lyrics to be buried beneath the instrumentation, and restrains me from understanding the sentiment of Rotate The Completors, if there even is one to begin with.
Rotate The Completors: Completed Rotations of the... is a juvenile and endearing album that perplexed me in ways that I can't justify without just referring to the music itself. The melodies are undeniably memorable, and show that the man behind Rotate The Completor's purpose isn't merely to flaunt his "outsider" repertoire. This album just proves that there is no inherently maturing sound within music, and that some musicians don't need to grow up.
[Rotate The Completor (fan) Myspace]
[Buy Rotate The Completors: Completed Rotations of the... from Roaratorio]
The second RTC album is now available ::
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