Let’s face it, there are about 3 kinds of people who will openly admit to liking “guitar music.” One is dads who wear ill-fitting t-shirts and miss the good ol’ days (‘66–’79); another is college radio punks who wear ill-fitting t-shirts and miss the good ol’ days (‘88–’01); and the third is the type of people who are freaking out right now because Mary Halvorson (Code Girl) and John Dieterich (Deerhoof) recorded an album together. You know: the type who go to Cropped Out every year and “do some sound work on the side?”
Did I just describe myself? Maaaaaaybe…but hey, listen: what’s IMPORTANT is that you don’t even have to wait for your favorite local DIY festival lineup this year to hear some collaborative sounds from Halvorson and Dieterich! The duo recorded an album called a tangle of stars that will be released October 25 on New Amsterdam Records. It’s a collection of free, free, FREE improvy 6-string tracks that will make you cross your arms and bob your head to your own imagined rhythm with your eyes closed! My favorite!
You can hear the first of those songs, “better than the most amazing game,” right now below! It’s featured in a teaser trailer for the album and streamable on Bandcamp.
From Dieterich:
It doesn’t necessarily sound like anything Mary’s done, and it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve done either. That’s one of the things I really love about it. The album is tangled, full of little strange musical nooks and crannies that may or may not lead somewhere.
I know the type that made it this far is just BEGGING to know exactly where these nooks and crannies may lead, so here’s the gist: you can pre-order the record right here and stream the first song below. The two will also play just ONE? live show together in Brooklyn at Roulette on October 28.
(Hey, look at you! The dads have long since navigated away to go back to Discogs, and the college radio kids lost their vyvanse boost around the 3rd paragraph. This last one is all for you, you Chicago-style noise-loving weirdo you! <3 Enjoy!)
a tangle of stars tracklisting:
01. excerpt from spatial serenade (original by John Donald Robb)
02. drum the rubber hate
03. balloon chord
04. short knives
05. lace cap
06. undercover meltdowns
07. ghost poem
08. vega’s array
09. the handsome
10. my mother’s lover
11. better than the most amazing game
12. continuous whatever
More about: John Dieterich, Mary Halvorson
