Sunday, April 23, 2017

Vinyl Review: "My Life of Steel and Concrete" by Quin Galavis

My Life of Steel and Concrete
It's kind of true confession time.

About five or so years ago I made a discovery. On my commute home, NPR's All Things Considered was discussing a documentary that was coming out about a man with OCD.

Up to that point, like many others, I made jokes about being OCD about this or that. It had never honestly occurred to me that I might have that particular mental illness.

As the gentleman talked about what his life was like and how he saw the world, I realized, that's kind of what I see.

The idea that it was abnormal to take someone not giving me a courtesy wave on the highway personally was so strange. That's how it always had been for me. Rudeness, inconsideration, etc they get me and as someone on the internet, I tend to get put off.

Most people will never understand this. The folks I know, when someone on the street says somethings stupid, they can let it go. If only it were so easy for me.

This is why My Life of Steel and Concrete really speaks to me. This album sounds like the way I feel. Galavis is speaking directly to me and my personal maladies.

It's haunting.

Normally, lyrical content means little to me. It's kind of like the drums, there's ok and bad for me. Here, I feel like I've been down this path. It's kind of like how listening to sad songs when your'e sad makes you happy and angry songs when you're mad makes you feel content.

Let's speak to the music now, as your average music listener probably can't relate to this. If you were to ask me what kind of music this is, the only answer is that it is music.

This is one of the most dynamic records I have ever heard in my life. Every track has basically a different line up.

There are songs full of crunchy guitars and dissonant guitars, but wait, there's more!

There's strings, horns, and sometimes even no drums, sometimes. The only consistent concept in this record is inconsistency and that's what makes it so compelling.

There are times when this album is beautiful, time when it's ugly, but it's always comforting to me. 

We are talking about a double EP, so we have the full glory of the gatefold cover. There isn't a lyric sheet in the set, but everything is laid out in beautiful fonts inside the gatefold.

Even the color scheme of the album is special. The cover has a black and gold motif and the inside has a gold and black motif.

Each track has all the pertinents listed including the lineup and what instruments were used.

The outside and the inside match perfectly.

Release: Out Now
Genre: ???
Label: Super Secret Records
Formats: LP/CD/Digital


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