Whaleman
Heroes In The Seaweed (Whaleman)
By: Gary "Pig" Gold
S. "Whaleman" Crone, commanding denizen of the world's one and only Bass Orchestra, herein produces a delightful, maybe even decidedly schizophrenic album of wonder delicately built upon the ominous low rumblings of his tape-manipulated instruments (or, in his own better words, "four and six string bass guitars plucked, strummed and bowed with different timbres that layer as one unified sound.")One unified sound, yes, but two distinctly opposing types of SONGS throughout: "Trippin' Out," "No Decision," "Wiggle With Me" (a 1965-era dance craze set in the pre-Velvet world of L. Reed!) and especially the should-be-top-of-the-charts-this-week "Kill Me An Angel," for example, are oddly, darkly, bleakly appealing li'l Pop numbers one and all which, in a less cruel world, would be filling the next ten years' worth of teen exploitation flicks. I mean, who amongst us wouldn't care to watch Katie Holmes -- not to mention the latest vampire slayer -- cavorting in 70MM to a gem like Seaweed's "She's Got To Secret," eh?!!
However, for each and every pearl such as the aforementioned, Whaleman balances the ante with what he's long done best: create swirling, shifting, nautical washes of low-end tone poetry (like "It's Not Fair," "Let Me Rest," and the jaw-dropping "Didn't It Rain" especially).
While only once do these two diametric sonic worlds collide (on the expertly structured and executed "The Slattern Slalem") it's the title track -- a five-minute full-on aquatic nightmare in sound -- that is this disc's true tour-de-force. Yes, THAT'S the kind of sounds which should've filled that damn "Titanic" soundtrack, as opposed to the calculated caterwauling of the W-man's fellow Canuck, C. Dion.
So then: Grab your very own "Heroes In The Seaweed". It'll float more than just your boat, I guarantee.
