Tom James Scott
The Carousel [CS; Skire]

Tom James Scott’s The Carousel is so good you’ll forget it’s even there. Its sparse nature and warble-y constitution tend to blend in, even as the haunting piano of Side A gets ready to fill your dreams with where-did-that-come-from? mystery. It’s some of the most beautiful minimalist sound art I’ve been privy to all these years, instinctual, skeletal, sad, and, most of all, expressive. Side B goes in more of an experimental direction, delving in more of that bone-key piano, but also retrieving noisy treasures from the junkyard of, say, any band on the Helen Scarsdale roster. A guitar appears to have been plucked as well, and it’s another joy to behold, all random excursions and practical deviations. It all comes back to that subconscious piano work though, so memorable yet fuzzy when you try to remember it the next day. I’m not sure if Scott wrote out charts for these compositions, but they seem as much like songs as any verse-bridge-chorus-repeat monstrosity you might find on ‘da FM and damn-sure superior to anything you’ll find on the AM. He seems to be fingering his keys in space, floating, knowing that he’s got all the time in the world, and taking advantage of that over two rewarding cassette sides. And the ART; it’s fantastic, an exciting design that all-too-aptly compliments the stellar audio wherein. One-hundred-and-seventy-five copies might seem like a shitload in the era of 100- and 50-runs, but in the land of Skire it ain’t all that much. Secure yours today.

Links: Skire

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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