ONE OF THE THINGS I FIND IMPRESSIVE ABOUT ASTOVEBOAT IS THAT ONE OF THEM WAS JUST ONE OF MANY BASS PLAYERS IN PROVIDENCE SCENE LEGENDS BAYLIES BAND AND THE OTHER WAS THE DRUMMER IN NOISE-ROCK ALSO-RANS GLAZED BABY. THEY DID THIS RECORD AND THEN NOTHING ELSE OF NOTE EVER AGAIN. I LOOKED ONE OF THEM UP ON LINKEDIN. HE HAS A GOOD JOB!
AT SOME POINT THEY MUST HAVE COME TOGETHER TO SAY "HEY LET'S PLAY A SLIGHTLY SEASICK VERSION OF A FEW GENRES THAT CAN BE CREDIBLY HANDLED WITH JUST BASS AND DRUMS" AND THAT WAS THAT. HERE'S BEN MCOSKER ON THE RECORD:
I received a tape of this two piece band and was instantly excited. Lineup was Dale Cunningham (ex-Glazed Baby) and Tom Coucci (Baylie’s Band). Tom played bass through a massive SVT stack and Dale played a 55 gallon drum and a washing machine tank. All of their songs concerned Herman Melville’s 1851 novel “Moby Dick” through the prism of heroin ridden MA seaside port, New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Plans were immediately made to record the band at Six Finger Satellite’s new studio, the Parlour. John MacLean, aka Juan MacLean handled much of the production. A Morse code pulse hums through much of the record. Some of the tracks were actually miked through a PA in the middle of a parking lot in the rain. The record was tracked onto 2 inch tape for extra wallop. Echoes of bands such as Slug and early Swans is definitely present, though the band very much has its own thing going. The band toured the Mid-West extensively, and did well in Kansas City, MO, Lawrence, KS and Chicago.WHAT ACTUALLY RULES ABOUT THIS RECORD IS THAT THE CONCEPT AND APPROACH DOESN'T BECOME TIRING. I USED TO TRY AND EMULATE THE BASS SOUND BUT NOW I AM OLD AND KNOW A THING OR TWO I REALISE YOU NEED TO HAVE A STACK AT LEAST AS LARGE AS A HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATOR OR IT WILL SIMPLY NOT SOUND AS RICH.
WHAT TYPICALLY DEFINES LOAD RECORDS IN MY MIND IS THIS SENSE OF EXCESS THROUGH LIMITATIONS. TAKE LIGHTNING BOLT: IT'S TWO GUYS ON BASS AND DRUMS. BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE 100 MUSICS AT ONCE BEING PERFORMED IN CARDIAC ARREST. IT'S A LABEL FULL OF HOBOS ATTEMPTING TO MAKE FINE WINE WITH THE THINGS THEY FIND ON THE STREET AND SOME OF THEM SUCCEED!
ASTOVEBOAT IS NOT THAT. THIS RECORD SOUNDS A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE AND THE GUYS A BIT MORE SEASONED AND AESTHETICALLY RIGOROUS. THIS ISN'T A POST-MODERN PLAYPEN RECORD. THERE'S SOME LURCHING 'NOISE-ROCK' BUT OH! APPARITION COULD BE AN INDIE ROCK HIT IN AN ERA THAT WAS LESS NARROW-MINDED. AND SEAWEED PT. 2 IS A BIT LIKE ESG. I USED TO PLAY IT WHEN I DJED (I WAS A BAD DJ) AND PEOPLE WOULD DANCE. THIS IS THE GOD'S HONEST TRUTH. CHECK IT OUT!
THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST LOAD RELEASE UP TO NOW INCLUDING SCISSOR GIRLS. BASS AND DRUMS AND DUAL VOCALS AND A BIT OF MOOG AND SOME MORSE CODE. RECORDED NICELY. BUY IT FOR YOUR EARS. THEY'LL THANK YOU FOR IT.
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