Album art doesn’t usually sway my musical expectations one way or the other, but when the creative mind behind so many downright amazing covers announces the release of a full-length solo LP, it’s difficult not to raise the bar a little higher than its default setting. The two art forms are basically unrelated, but you know, whatever. Appreciate my unreasonable assumptions, damn you!
In an interview with TMT earlier this year, Robert Beatty remarked on his general artistic philosophy: “I’m trying to just take everything I like and mix it together to create something new and exciting. Confusion is sex, and I will continue to hide behind the curtain so people never quite know what’s happening.” The alluringly obscure nature of Beatty’s visual work should be self-evident, but what about the auditory side of things? His band Hair Police fits neatly into the “noise” category. By contrast, and in keeping with his promise to elude expectations, his solo Three Legged Race project represents something much more subdued and melodic, but captivating nonetheless.
On December 3, Three Legged Race will release his debut full-length LP (though certainly not first release) Persuasive Barrier, courtesy of Spectrum Spools. The album was recorded over a period of five years, and was driven by (according to Pitchfork, and like the rest of Beatty’s work under the moniker) the use of a Realistic Concertmate MG-1 — the synthesizer built by Moog for Radio Shack in the early 1980s. Relatively cheap equipment aside, the title track (which you can listen to at the Pitchfork link above) sounds both thoroughly promising and appropriately mysterious. Dare I say, it might just be the musical equivalent of an egg oozing telephone-shaped pink goo. Pre-order the LP here.
Persuasive Barrier tracklisting:
01. Traces of a Wet Crowd
02. Permethrin I
03. Persuasive Barrier
04. Magnetic Bride
05. Butter Colored Hallway
06. Locked Eyes
07. Budgeting Air
08. Permethrin II
• Robert Beatty: http://www.remainsstreet.com
• Spectrum Spools: http://editionsmego.com/releases/spectrum-spools