Ruth Garbus
Rendezvous with Rama [LP; Feeding Tube]

With the Paris attacks barely in the rearview, I needed this record, Ruth Garbus playing up an enchanting, exotic presence that smacks of Angel Olsen just a bit on its way to indie-folk paydirt. Rendezvous with Rama doesn’t slide into your ears as much as cuddle up next to them, cooing a little playfully without ever batting an eyelash (not that we can see at least). Garbus has a voice other women want. She has a voice men want to climb into, at least in my case; when I listen to a solo record (lady/guy and a guitar pretty much) like this I find myself almost falling in love just a little, my ego perhaps telling me, “Yes, dude, of course she means you! If only you weren’t married, right?” HA what a joke. My instincts want to take shit back to the 80s but gals like Garbus are so ahead of the game they RULE the game. She would probably take me apart with a stare in person, much like her guitar cuts through a smoky room with spare salience. I think those musical spots in the second season of True Detective were going for a similar motif. It failed, of course. Nothing foments minor-key excellence like obscurity, and Feeding Tube, once again, is there to scoop up the goodies and offer them up to us like a kid with a folded-up T-shirt bottom full of blueberries from a fresh pick (that’s never happened to me, but it should of). Don’t resist the charms of Rendezvous with Rama. We could all use a nice calming down; our lives are run ragged, our cash flow is fizzling, and job security is like a fleeting dream of the past. What better way to disconnect than to take in an ethereal soul-search through a fellow traveler’s life? Check out that cover art, too; almost brings those elusive tears back to the surface. One of those rare records that never missteps, it’s time to visit Rama, friend.

Links: Feeding Tube

Cerberus

Cerberus seeks to document the spate of home recorders and backyard labels pressing limited-run LPs, 7-inches, cassettes, and objet d’art with unique packaging and unknown sound. We love everything about the overlooked or unappreciated. If you feel you fit such a category, email us here.

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