Lougow – Dull Thicket (Ozark Level Full View)

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Opening with a lo-fi charm and high pitched, almost cartoon like vocals, it’s clear from the start that this isn’ to be considered a “normal’ folk album, if there is such a thing. Lougow, or Jason Wayne Arsaga to his mother, apparently lives as an innkeeper at a secluded beashside hotel, and shreds guitars and cassette decks in a cave. Quite a CV.

It’s clear that he has no interest in following anything that could be called “convention’, and is frankly all the better for it. “Are Your Eyes Already Ready’ opens gently with guitar before launching into full on falsetto vocals and room recorded acoustic guitars. Much of what follows is pumping through the same veins. A lone, pumping 4/4 kick drum holds insatiable pulse through all the pieces, while bespoke percussion rattles and cracks in the background. “You’ll Live and Die By Those Little Dogs’ kicks off the B side in the same fashion as A, as the LP begins to swirl together like a kaleidoscope of falsetto, bass drums, spring reverb, and relentless acoustic guitar. Each piece reminds you of the one before it, but you’re so preoccupied with keeping up that you forget what the previous track was even about. Yes, it’s one of THOSE records. Ones that are single, sheer abandon, caution in the wind, high spirited freedom.

There’ something almost inherently charming about this sort of material for me, and at several points I found myself thinking of Animal Collective, albeit and severely lo-fi version. If I had to classify this, I’d say sort of a lo-fi future folk pop record. Curious.

Nick Giles

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