Don Strasburg by Don Strasburg
From a blitz of tritontal angst, Don Strasborg develops their latest album into a mosaic of contemporary disgust and fury. From the onset, tracks like "Tar Mine" weave from pulsating malaise to droning waves of sound which signal a departure from the comforts of easily-digestible commodity music. The plateaus of "War Dogs"' blast a wall of disorienting sound rock dumptrucks that don't fail to enchant, and "Fossil Phil"s ur-angst walls up a cauldron of disdain for the fossilized subjects of late modern capitalism. When Don Strasborg renounces being 'enjoyable' the force of their tracks shines most clearly. The unsettled movement of the album offers no resolution or reconciliation; lyrical grovel and thrashing rage characterize songs like, Baja Fun, bemoaning the the degrading imprisonment of our generation in "jobs/ against their will" in the belly of the capitalist whirlwind. As the American landscape slips off into catastrophic decay, the perilously-attenuated youths of Don Strasborg leave listeners with the despair of always having "been here before" (Tilly's Theme) in an endless cul-de-sac at the sick end of history.
The blue unease of Jumbo Dog verges on the brechtian, flaying bursts of guilt and disgust, at the men "living in filth, in silence" in our withering corner of the decadent United States. "Shame, shame, shame!/ See you in Hell/ Shackled to my / Chain, Chain, Chain!" It is the very discomfort of this album that is its truth. 'Flesh' lingers in the hollow atomsphere Don Strasborg nourishes with free-wheeling and suspended melodies, chugging bridges, and dependably funky breakdowns. "Haircutter" closes off the album evoking all the fluent transitions from mal-entheused punkish rage to disturbed bass loops, distilling the tenor of the piece as a whole. The disenchanted wastelands of this album capture it's time and world: restless, tired of it's own rage.
Tracklist
| 1. | Tar Mine | 3:14 |
| 2. | War Dogs | 3:28 |
| 3. | Fossil Phil | 3:07 |
| 4. | Caden's Baja Fun | 2:37 |
| 5. | Tilly's Theme | 1:17 |
| 6. | Jumbo Dog | 5:49 |
| 7. | Flesh | 5:53 |
| 8. | Haircutter (digital bonus) | 3:07 |
| 9. | Acetone (digital bonus) | 2:04 |
Credits
License
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We here at First Base Tapes think we know that it is better to matrix compellingly than to synthesize interactively. What do we evolve? Anything and everything, regardless of unimportance! Think ultra-affiliate-based. It sounds improbable, but it's true! We apply the proverb "Don't cry over spilt milk" not only to our implementation but our ability to benchmark.
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