Armstrong - Armstrong (Grotto Mimosa, 2011)

Tweet

Jeremy Ross Armstrong is typically known as an artist most often working in the field of tattoo design. Bearing in mind his sharp outlining and meticulous shading, to assume that his musical endeavors sound just as vivid would be inaccurate. His surname-titled debut is a personal affair, one of recordings (culled from 2001-2007) that haven't withstood the tests of time, masked in deterioration. This is far from an inimical trait, for the album proudly sports its messy visage. This isn't Armstrong merely pinning himself to the lo-fi model, either; these are memories, worn into mutant hallucinations.

The 13-minute opening dirge "Release" functions like its title: an exhausted liberation, sauntering through a sloppy chord and indecisive drums-- both of the components mauled by cassette weathering. Reversed carousel keys on "Clypei" deform their childlike air as the structure is led astray amongst interjections of noise. The track calls forth an untold story of blurry nostalgia; a loss of pleasant reflection, told in Armstrong's dialect of disjointed sonic piquancy.

Proceeding excursions abstain themselves from this melancholic elicitation. Centerpiece "Shaded Seven" is a lengthy albeit captivating exercise in audio tampering. Reels spun beyond seemly speeds, abrasive guitar garble, and mercurial swells all inhabit it. Pounding rhythms are essentially chopped and screwed on "Flourish", which almost acts as the opener's reprise. A slippery loop gains throbbing momentum in advance of disintegrating, ending Armstrong in a saccharine puddle of acoustic guitar. On the whole, Armstrong purports endearing and inquisitive audio manipulation with glimpses of unique profundity, which prompts curiosity of what future undertakings will entail.



[Jeremy Ross Armstrong Blog]
[Buy Armstrong from Grotto Mimosa]