Sand Snowman - Obsessive Creatures (Time-Lag CD-r 2007)

Oh, John Fahey! Wait, it's Jack Rose! No. Hang on. Well, it's not Richard Bishop, I'll say that much. It's...Ilya Ahmed? (Well, at least the last has some beauteous wrapping. This one sure doesn't.) Chances are what you are reading about is not technically any of these. There are a touch more influences, patched together like so many crust-punk hoodies, but them's your base. Track 3 is the most varied, trying to convince me he's more than a slightly-inspired plucker. The wakka-ja-wakka groove and the vaguely Bruce Langhorne-ishness aren't convincing me. Because in the end it amounts to some Roy Carter outtakes. The rest of this affair has the lilting quality of clotted cream and a plate of crust, or some such nonsense. Lots of delicate plucking making you think he's heard records he hasn't. Nice clear recording, though, belying it's kind of homespun format. That certainly had me spilling my tea. Nothing against homespun media! In fact, I think it's the flea's eyebrows. However, acts there-inclined tend to mine in a particular province of fidelity. If you told me this was on Mute, not only would I not be surprised, I might...uh, hang on. That's all. I just wouldn't be surprised. My roommate got me hooked on this Japanese tea called Genmaicha, what has puffed-up rice all in it. Know how tea sometimes smells incredible & tastes like sweaty briefs? This one tastes exactly like it smells. As a matter of fact, there's almost no taste, just the smell and a faint milkiness. I just about levitated off the couch. Wow. Is a surprise now and then too much to ask? Scott Walker says the problem with music these days is there's too much & too little to remember about it. That just about says what I'm getting at, so I'll go ahead & shut up.