SORRY ANOTHER SILTBREEZE WRITE-UP

But this one's local!
Yeah, I know. I wasn't even going to post about Magic Flowers Droned, the new Horseshit record, because just about anyone hitting this silly page knows how I feel and how they feel about the Psychedelic ones. It's great, they're great, they're even better with Kevin D on bass, and this debut full-length is a top-five of the year for certain. No point in wasting time on critical blather. I'd rather talk about Rich's Papa John's hat he's always wearing, or Matt's new sleazy 80's Italian vagabond look he's been sporting lately.
But in a recent interview Matt went and inspired me to find some criticisms with the new record, which with, after finally nabbing on vinyl, I've settled into a nice daily listening routine. And yes, it's easy to find faults with the album's second half, especially in the mash-up of two perfectly great songs, but in reality the record just becomes more interactive with each flop of the needle. JUST LIKE THE NEW RADIOHEAD! Except this record will cost $10 every time, and has better songs. If you don't like the mash-up turn the channel to the left or right. It's up to you. If you don't like the version of "Bad Vibrations" you can skip it. It's up to you.
Mason Jones of Dusted says it sounds "as though it was recorded by placing a hand-held in the corner of the room and hitting the red button", which couldn't be further from the truth, in fact it sounds like Mr. Whitehurst went a little crazy with the knob twiddling in places. If you know him as a sound man at Bourbon St. or Blues Station you're probably used to his idiosyncrasies. He's obsessive about the way things sound, oftentimes to a fault. Go back and listen to the paper singles Mason, those were the tape deck-in-a-corner sessions.
My final fault would be with the design, or lack-thereof, on the back sleeve. It's not so great, some of it works but it looks a little last minute thrown together. The front is really great, especially produced at twelve inches.
So there, Matt, are my faults with the record. It's still at this point my album of the year. Magic Flowers Droned and Psychedelic Horseshit are that rare art where the flaws only enhance its power and relevance. Matt and Rich seem to revel in imperfection, so long as it is new to them. Every so often it really does result in complete shit, but when the reward is this high you have to keep betting on the horse.