| cLOUDDEAD's self-titled record was a revelation in a musical climate where the divide between innovation and posturing is determined by who impersonates whom the best; a mix of hip-hop beats, My Bloody Valetine-esque drones, sing-song anti-rapping cut with freeform anti-poetry, live instrumentation, samples both familiar and alien, and bedroom-fi grit. cLOUDDEAD quite simply blew minds. From disenchanted b-boys to indie waifs, academics to hood rats, the album struck a proverbial chord (even if the chord in question was time-stretched to hell, grainy, and droned for thirty-two measures before repeating) with music lovers everywhere, one of whom was John Peel. Less than a year after the album's release, the three Bay Area geeks were invited to record a Peel Session. As you may or may not know, Peel sessions are governed by simple, yet flexible rules; the band is generally given one session to lay down a few "live in the studio" tracks with minimal overdubs. cLOUDDEAD's session took place over the course of one weekend, and the final product is entirely different from that of the original album, revealing a different facet of the band's ever-evolving identity. cLOUDDEAD was originally recorded over the course of a year and a half, in various bedrooms; the Peel Session was knocked-out in one weekend. The ten-inch is divided into two halves, "Know Your Monkey" and "Enjoy Your Killfish" - Interesting. "Know Your Monkey" contains "Physics of a Bicycle" originally the epic, "Hey Jude"-esque closing track to cLOUDDEAD. A new arrangement - live drums, grand piano, soaring synth-strings, spinning bicycle wheel percussion - combined why? and Doseone's oddly-affecting singing styles push "Physics of a Bicycle" into that rare realm inhabited by early Ween and Captain Beefheart; bizarre to the point of hilarity, yet immensely touching. By the end, you'll be misty-eyed, ready to wave your lighter in time to the chorus. The flip side, "Enjoy Your Killfish", contains "Dead Dog," "Cold Lunch," and "Grey." "Dead Dog" finds Dose and why? sing-talk-rapping in their signature style over a minimal marimba loop paired with an equally minimal beat, some nice atmospheric rain and city sounds, screaming and narration. "Cold Lunch" is a Dictaphone style recording from a graveyard, with Dose letting loose his poetic side while why? narrates. The closer, "Grey" is as (thankfully) close to straight-up hip-hop as cLOUDDEAD gets, featuring why? dropping now-famous lines like "Sunset is an all-day process" over an electro beat that gets flipped into a sample-based beat halfway through the track, paired up with a nice synth drone. cLOUDDEAD's Peel Session is phenomenal, and all too short. Doseone, why?, and odd nosdam continue to tread new territory that's both funky, interesting, and original in a world where originality is frequently glossed-over in favor of posture and pretense. - Fine Print |
1X10"/Out Of Print