Saturday, November 6, 2010

Edsel Auctioneer - Simmer (1992, Decoy/Kokopop)

For whatever the reason, The Edsel Auctioneer were a band I would regularly pass over, even in bargain bins.  I finally relented when I happened upon their The Good Time Music of... album a few years ago, well over a decade after the fact, and was impressed enough to explore their earlier catalog.  I soon discovered that their debut full length, Simmer, was doubly better than Good Time Music...  This past May saw an E/A entry on Wilfully Obscure for their "Slouch" single (the A-side of which also makes an appearance on this album).  Simmer is a percolating wellspring of downcast, indie guitar greatness that reveals an indebtedness to Buffalo Tom, Eleventh Dream Day and even Dinosaur Jr., that is had Mascis and Co. taken a more austere route.  The Edsels pair a keen melodic prowess with urgent, six-string firepower, offset by a grounded ethos that's entirely befitting.  Simmer is a little droney, but in a strangely cozy context that's hard to resist.

01. Undertow
02. Stomachful
03. Pop Somg #2
04. Ballad of Richard Holt
05. Slouch
06. Starfish
07. Ballast
08. Drone
09. Dragging My Hide
10. Monuments

Hear

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