Issue # 56 - Best of 2015 - Father John Misty and Wolf Alice
Original Machines
Superball
Jan 19, 2016
Conrad Keely
After 22 years with ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Conrad Keely releases his debut solo album, if we can call it that. You could view these 24 tracks as value for money but Original Machines is an overwhelming and inconsistent listen; less a professionally-minded album, per se, than a sheer outpouring of the entire Keely vault. The opening number has a tinny, drum-machine-aided lo-fi sound. Tracks like “Your Tide Is Going Out” are denser, if indulgent, sonic experiments. Elsewhere, you feel like you’re merely listening to demos for the next Trail of Dead LP. But then there are also several slick and seemingly full-fledged pieces that could’ve been packaged together, cut free of the slackerly baggage, and moulded into a more pristine collection that might not resemble a hastily-compiled posthumous release. In fact, Keely remains very much alive and should, with his experience, know better. (www.conradkeely.com)
Author rating: 5.5/10
Average reader rating: 8/10
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