Albumen s/t LP (Eiderdown)

Albumen is a new project that arose from a conversation between experimental trumpeter Greg Kelley and stalwart punk/rock bassist Mike Watt on the latter’s Watt From Pedro podcast. The conversation ended with a casual suggestion of “trading tracks” and, after some procrastination, Kelley sent some solo trumpet tracks to Watt who quickly turned them around with an added layer of bass. Further procrastination followed, then Kelley had the idea to send the tracks over to his Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand bandmate, bassist John Seman, to take on some arrangement duties and flesh out the skeletal bass/trumpet duos. John enlisted the rest of the Hound Dogs (Jeffrey Taylor on guitar & Mark Ostrowski on drums) and violist Noel Kennon and transported the project from a seed to a harvest.

To say that Albumen is *more* than the sum of its parts may be a little misleading considering that the group consists of members of the Minutemen, Climax Golden Twins, nmperign and all of Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand. But the equation certainly extends beyond a simple 1 + 1 scenario and reaches outward from those punk/rock/jazz/experimental touch points into a cryptic cloud of 6 psychedelia-tinged tracks that range from wispy hovering to driving propulsion.

The album kicks off with “Paradise Or the Sea” which is firmly grounded by Watt’s parrying pizzicato and Kelley’s Taj Mahal Traveller-tinged wah & delay. Ostrowski & Kennon pepper the proceedings with filigree & melody and Taylor brings things to a close with some distorted feedback. Side 1 continues with the album’s most haunting and beautiful track, “Rose of Shannon.” So far the impression would be that this is a relatively atmospheric, mellow album, but beneath the lovely, plucked minor key guitar and Kennon’s high lonesome viola, Kelley’s vibrating metal plate and Watt’s harmonically unsettled question marks lend some apprehension and portent that are brought to fruition later in the track. After a pause, Ostrowski’s drums start percolating and Taylor’s guitar builds to some acid-fried leads before the track winds back down to a close. “No Wine Before Its Time” ticks up the apprehensiveness with a touch of the cosmic and some clamor: more crackling guitar, ring-modulated trumpet and flashing, fragemented cymbals & drums over Watt’s insistent bass motif.

Side 2 kicks off with the longest track on the album, “Ritual Gesticulations.” Clocking in at almost 16 minutes, it’s also the most free-flowing and dynamic track with moments of searching, moments of squawking, scattered melodic motifs and some of Taylor’s most burning guitar moments. Seman’s upright bass intertwines with Watt’s electric bass throughout while Ostrowski’s drums alternate coloration with uptempo skittering finally locking in with Watt’s concluding ostinato. “Be That As It May” is the closing rocker with Watt & Ostrowski locked into a groove, Kelley coating the walls with white noise, Kennon scraping them and Taylor’s rhythmic wah & rocking leads bringing it home.

Despite being recorded in Somerville Massachusetts, San Pedro California and Seattle Washington over a span of time, the achieved result could as well have been recorded “live with absolutely no overdubs” in Halifax Nova Scotia. It just so happens it wasn’t. But the proof is in the pudding and no wine before its time… This one’s ready to decant.