Russell Rockwell
In an alternate world where supercomputers host dance parties, I’m pretty sure this record would comprise the tracklist. Maybe that’s an overstatement, but if you’ve ever walked into a banging club on a Saturday night and found yourself in an empty cubicle accompanied by a printer endlessly ejaculating blank sheets of paper into the encroaching night, then you know what I’m talking about.
Easily Suede is the solo project of Adam Babar, a prolific Atlanta musician better known for his work in Faun and a Pan Flute. Babar also plays in Basketball Movie when he isn’t busy promoting collaboration at the DIY performance space the Cleaners. Considering his schedule, it’s somewhat surprising that his solo work remains more than a collection of jams, but nonetheless there is a musical identity to Easily Suede that defies the moniker ‘side project.’
Simply put, See!? Look!, is a wild take on ambient music. If Babar’s last record was a study in simplicity, the new LP takes the pieces of 2015’s Role Player and stirs them in with alien pop songs and what sounds suspiciously like otherworldly data entry.
Whether intentional or not, this record is a foil to the festival-driven, commercialized EDM movement, a genre which somehow takes itself too seriously despite simply existing as fodder for drug-addled business students in a perpetual state of coitus interruptus until their parents land them a velvety Fortune 500 job. In contrast, See!? Look! exchanges beat drops for dreamy wonder and topsy-turvy rhythms that keep the listener on their toes for all 13 tracks.
If you have to put a label on it, the album falls somewhere between ambient and pop music, but the songs often contrast rather than combine, as evidenced by the stylistic gap between “silk tarp” and “funky1.” There are occasional elements which defy the populism lacing each track, but these songs aren’t overcome with their own artistry. For example, “Right In the Middle of a Right In” may not be the strongest song on the record, but it best encapsulates Babar’s ability to cheerfully deconstruct an element of pop music and toy with it to hilarious effect while still creating an endearing track bolstered by endless sampling.
It’s often unclear while listening to the LP whether Babar’s skill lies within the musical copy and paste or whether the sampling is simply a skin which disguises genuine songwriting. In either case, the wobbly melodies and bent tones on See!? Look! are unique but not alienating. There is a lighthearted playfulness that bounces, stretches, and oozes through each note and if you embrace the weirdness you’ll find a silly, slack-jawed smile on your face by the end of the record.
More Info
Bandcamp: easilysuede.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @easilysuede