If a CD is released on Mike Patton's Ipecac record label then you have to prepare yourself in advance for a generous helping of weirdness and the duo calling themselves East West Blast Test do not fail in this regard on their second full length release called Popular Music for Unpopular People. The band is a collaborative effort between two friends, Chris Dodge (bass, guitars, vocals) and Dave Witte (drums) who had long spoken of working together. The physical distance between them made it very difficult to actually work in the same studio so the idea was that it would be a long distance collaboration. Witte would record his drum tracks on the east coast and send them off to Dodge out west, Dodge would then build his own sonic landscapes around these drum tracks to create the finished songs. The formula and element of surprise worked so well the first time around on their first CD 5 years ago, they became eager to try it again.
Both musicians come from very different and diverse backgrounds ranging from hardcore to the more experimental and the result is 23 songs adding up to about 30 minutes of pure sonic eccentricity. There is absolutely everything including the kitchen sink thrown in as the listener gets a taste of many different musical genres. Only one song runs over 3 minutes and the CD is sequenced in such a way that it feels like it could be a soundtrack to David Lynch's latest film. Witte lays down some truly terrifying drum tracks and has an even larger variety of tricks up his sleeve in his arsenal this time around; same goes for Dodge whose jagged guitars punch their way to the front of the mix to match Witte's intensity. If you like music that pushes the creative envelope, is all over the map musically and challenges you as a listener then East West Blast Test is going to be right up your alley. It's definitely up mine.
Track Listing
1) Kind of Black And Blue
2) The Drop
3) In The Dogloo
4) Unfantastic Voyage
5) The Fathership Invasion
6) Passport To Papua
7) Lithe
8 )Senor Polyp
9) Don't Drink The Atwater
10) Unwanted Inches
11) Anne R. Kaye
12) Pope's Nose
13) Fabulous Slurry
14) Chasing The Dragon
15) Soft Robotics
16) Corkmaster
17) In The Multi-Purpose Room
18) Otoko No Niku
19) Long In The Tooth
20) The Great Carny Breakout
21) Yin Yin
22) Eight Hours North
23) Welcome To Geelong (Now Go Home)
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