The Doldrums (CD - 2004)

Recording information: LA (09/1999-??/2003); Val Verde, CA (09/1999-??/2003).

Originally released as a CD-R, this acid-fried eight-track recording by this odd newcomer to Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label is one of the most wonderfully skewed takes on classic pop you're likely to hear. Tape warp and vintage hiss and hum are the outerwear, but some serious '70s radio songcraft dwells underneath. This is the stuff Bowie heard in his dreams when not being terrorized by Satan living in his swimming pool. So dang it if we don't have a lo-fi revival on our hands. But this new batch seems bound and determined to drag listeners back with writing so catchy and sounds so warm that it's impossible to resist. Just pretend you're Steve Buscemi's character in Ghost World, and Maxell cassettes are the new 78-rpm records. ~ Joshua Glazer minimize