Barnacled 'Table No. 12' 7"
After a handful of cd-r releases and a stunning full-length compact disc on
Corleone Records, Barnacled provide White Denim with two massive swirlings of
green earth and blue water. Barnacled's sound is as easy to capture as a rabid
tiger; this wedding-themed single displays their impressive use of percussion
to fuel their smiling train right off a cliff. Bells cascade into sweetly rolling
horns, and before long, the entire room is pulsating with a feverish motion. Each
track calls to mind it's own scenario, "Damp" acting as a pied piper to all the
invertebrates hidden underground and "Vulcanizing Society" recalling the quiet
moments before the Animal Farm revolt.
There are 532 copies pressed, each on orange-splattered clear vinyl. Each copy
comes with a full color 5"x5" insert, packaged inside full color cardboard covers.
There are 5 test pressings, each on black vinyl with plain white center stickers, hand-drawn inserts,
and "Geranio" stickers attached to the plastic sleeves.
01 - Vulcanizing Society
02 - Damp
Blastitude:
MORE COLORED VINYL!!! This is actually some disgusto vinyl -- last issue Barnacled
got the "Is that puke on the cover?" award, and now they get the "Is that puke on
my vinyl?" award. What's the deal with puke and Barnacled? Maybe something to do
with being seasick? Anyway, the music: if you recall I was kind of undecided about
Barnacled's CD last ish -- while it was not without its bracing innovation, some
of it seemed too 'studio Klezmer' and 'Zorn game piece' and 'more post than PRE' f
or me to give in completely. So this 7-inch is kind of make or break for these guys,
huh. Well, I got it in the mail yesterday, but then today it got 'made' for me before
I could even think about it getting 'broke,' because I heard it at work on WFMU's
live webstream and I was like, "Damn, who's this? This is kinda nice." It turned
out to be side A here, "Vulcanizing Society," and it's really good, like Ginger
Baker's Air Force jamming over a loop that Conrad Schnitzler sent 'em. Side B
starts kind of fancifully, for tuned glass or something, but it gets overtaken
by electrosplunge, concussion, and horn rock. Ends up sounding like . . . . . . . . . .
Ginger Bakers' Air Force jamming over a loop that Conrad Schnitzler sent 'em! Good record!
The Wire:
Barnacled are yet another of those gluey and delicious groups from Providence, RI, but their
gawkiness is expansive and friendly in a way that is not true of all their confreres. This septet
adds wide-assed jazz flub to the way its ass moves, although it forsakes the expected fire music
orthodoxy (not a bad orthodoxy, but still) in favour of something more maximally lateral.
There are no real sharp edges on the Table No 12 (White Denim #6 7"), everything invites
closeness and intimacy with soft pudgy gestures. The fact that the whole room feels like it's
spinning into space when this happens is just more gravy on a very loving cake.
Punk Planet:
It's annoying when I stare dumbly at vinyl and becoming numbingly lost in its oscillations. What's
worse is when the racket is hypnotic horn-led noise experimentation. Side one fails to engage (stuck
on an uninspired groove), but side two tediously tinkers a sweet and forlorn cacophony.
Released October 2003
