Tradition [coll] – [Porter Records]

Thurston Hunger   8/28/2011   A Library, CD

He’s Pregnant, and alas she’s Alak. They are husband and
wife and share this spinning musical bed, he (Daniel Trudeau)
tucked on the inside and providing the first set of tracks.
Pop in the sort of sweet wild-eyed Danielson manner. He’s
a one man Elephant 6, the percussion sounds like a kitchen
drawer, some horns flit by on #4 and #7 (jazz whale calls
on the latter) but maybe those are just all samples. Other
electronics feel like Raymond Scott’s “Soothing Sounds for
Baby” on a sleep deprived silly slide. She (Jocelyn Jade
Noir, alas that altername works well for a lass and Alak)
starts her section with “You You You” which hit my Big Blood
blister, that sense that at any moment she just might yodel,
with such a pretty but quavering voice. That voice carries
nicely on “Because Surprises Change So Little” but dig the
scatterjazz guitar work on that too. While I prefer her
broken lullaby moments, she even aerobicizes over a drum
machine on “Crystal Power Attack.” “Stark Fool” is a pretty
damn full 4 minute number, and this split CD’s strength is
its breadth, each individual splitting into more and more
sonic selves. Seems like there’s more than two of them, and
I’m not talking about Juniper in a jumpsuit.

-Thurston Hunger