For his 128th release of 2017 (*checks math, is satisfied*), More Eaze, aka Austinite Marcus Maurice, eases back on the accelerator a bit, switches off his synthesizers, and pulls out his trusty electric guitar, the one gathering dust in its case under his bed. (Mine has spent so many years accumulating dust that you could excavate an actual Yo La Tengo Painful sticker under it all.) Over the first half of cassette EP unnatural._light he strums, hums, and warbles like a young Jason Lytle recording Grandaddy demos in a Modesto basement. I almost expect Jed the Humanoid to make an appearance or a chorus of “Go Progress Chrome” to break out.
But More Eaze is OK with wearing his heart on his sleeve here, and while the initial shock of “More Eaze Unplugged (ish)” takes a second or two of getting used to, once you’ve let these three tracks on the A-side into your cold robotic heart, you’re powerless against their charms. All of this leads in nicely to the B-side, where the return of the synth whiz isn’t so much heralded by a massive bombardment of sound as a gentle reintroduction, the physical gap of the sides bridged by mood. Yeah, those are weird-ass synth noises and glitches and stuff, but the sheets of rain that enter to accompany the melodic arpeggios hint still further at the introspective Marcus from side A. “Palm on Palm” unfolds gracefully over its fourteen and a half minutes, at times flitting into rhythmic madness before pulling it all back, rain continuing its assault on the roof, reflecting the aura of the room but suggesting it’ll pass and we can all go outside soon and run around and play.
Gosh, that makes me sound like a first-grader, or a dog. But it’s what I want to do after being cooped up for a while, after I’ve soaked up the dreary afternoon, and I’m ready for some new, far-out adventure. What’s my soundtrack gonna be for that? Let me just grab a random tape from the stack over here … ah, firesid3 ch@t r00m it is.
Streamy-stream below or purchase digital (tape’s sold out — nuts!) for a mere buck (!) from Rat Tail Tapes.
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