The Three Potato 4
"Album Savant" CDR
Series
Two
Genre: lo-fi, pop, psychedelia
San Francisco, CA
January 2010 |
San Franciscan
attorney Ryan Kittleman cuts strange, lo-fi psych-pop songs in his
free time, and Album Savant is the result of nine months
spent industriously recording. The result is a record with positive moments, but
one that is bogged down by its creator's inexperience. Ergo, while
this is a decently-tuned DIY nugget, most listeners will be
expecting something crisper and more outwardly engaging.
The album begins
with the cluttered psychedelia of "Heather's Feather," whose
reverb-heavy vocals, synthesized strings, and chintzy keyboard bells
spell out a mediocre song blessed with melody but devoid of punch.
It's the sort of track that would have worked much better with a
full band and a professional recording studio; as-is, it isn't bad,
though one can't help but feel it should be a lot better. This sentiment is echoed in the
rest of the album, which occasionally shows promise, but seldom
transcends its limitations. Its flaws range from outright flops ("Let
Yourself Know," singularly wretched harpsichord 'ballad' "Victory")
to decent tracks with misfortunate issues (the abysmal
faux-turntables scratches of "It'll Be Morning," I'm looking at
you). There are few lo-fi pop fans as tolerant as I, but I simply
can't enjoy Album Savant.
the three potato 4's myspace
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 10 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released March 2009] |