Lesniak
"1000 Dollar Headphones" CDR
Tokyo
Rose Records
Genres: electronica, IDM, glitch-pop
Tokyo Rose
4222 Chambers
Cincinnati OH 45223
June 21 - 27 2004 |
Lesniak is the electronic music project of Jeremy Lesniak,
who is also involved in a number of other bands and collectives,
including Hearts Of Palm, Burning Star Core, and Culture
Queer. 1000 Dollar Headphones is out now on the
increasingly prolific Cincinnati Tokyo Rose label, and it uses a
combination of electronic elements and acoustic instrumentation to
make for a surprisingly unique listen. However, this
unapologetic originality also makes for an album destined to a limited
fanbase - parts of this are too obscure or experimental to catch on
with a vast audience.
Upon first listen, 1000 Dollar Headphones comes off as
nothing more than a home-brewed electronica experiment. The
cover art is intentionally DIY, and the music, though occasionally
quite melodic, is not particularly infectious. Multiple listens
warrant better results, and start to uncover some exceptional
tracks. The glitchy vocal-dissection of "Where Is The
Fun" is quite pleasant, in a similar vein to Funkstörung's
remix of Bjork's "All Is Full of Love."
Meanwhile, "Babies Last Breath" has a deceptively funky
mood, and "Detached Observer" is a remarkably rollicking
slice of techno with dark vocals laid overtop.
Overall, this is an interesting - albeit inessential - selection of
electronic music. As his first dip into the genre, this is a
pretty successful release for Jeremy Lesniak, who would be well
advised to explore more of this type of acoustic/electronic hybrid
music in the future. I dig.
80%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 13 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |