a r t i s t : Ducktails
t i t l e : Ducktails
d a t e : 2009
l a b e l : Not Not Fun
c a t : NNF152
s o u r c e : Vinyl
g e n r e : Psychedelic/Tropical Surf Drone
r l s. d a t e : Jun/2009
t r a c k s : 09
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 46,6 MB
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Plastic palm trees. Beach scene snowglobes. Airbrushed neon
sunset hotel paintings. All shining examples of potent Fake
Escapism at work, in real life. And if youÆve ever wondered
what the audio equivalent of this kind of cheap coastal
utopian simulacrum is, take a good listen to the recorded
works of Mr. Matt Mondanile aka Ducktails, a crazy talented
suburban New Jerseyan who serves up masterpiece after
blasterpiece of shimmering, smoke-and-mirrors exotic fantasia,
rainbow psych-pop muzak for imaginary helicopter rides over
crystal lagoons and lost waterfalls. His self-released tapes
dropped over the past year-plus have seen his basement
guitar/rhythm hypnosis instincts gently arcing upwards into a
total art form, and this, DucktailsÆ debut full-length LP, is
the absolute zenith of the vision. Lazy island percussion
loops under blissed horizons of hovering synth colors, warm
jangly wah-wah guitars lap like waves alongside casual
hammock-chilling vocals; song titles like ôBeach Point
Pleasantö and ôDancing With The One You Loveö further
articulate MondanileÆs mood agenda: maxinÆ & relaxinÆ. A few
numbers get a bit more tripped/spaced in a loosely
post-Pacific City model, but those parts function less like a
drug ride and more just like the hazy time of night after the
beach bonfireÆs burned out and you pass out on the sand,
holding hands with someone special, staring up at the stars.
What do you see? Endless blackness? Or a new BFF? Black vinyl
LPs mastered by Graham Lambkin (of The Shadow Ring) housed in
matte jackets with cover artwork by Jan Anderzen (of
Kemialliset Ystavat/Tomuttontu), plus a photocopied insert.
Edition of 600.
normy:
After a spat of excellent tape and CD releases and just a
little bit of interhype we finally get a full length record
from Matt Mondanile's Ducktails and it's a total winner!! And
Ducktails, props on the name fo'sure!! Nine tracks of
distinguished lo-fi surf folk/space pop cover as much ground
as is possible on this 's/t' debut. It' begins with a lo-fi
country jam that pairs off swirling rhythm guitars with
cardboard box drums. This is followed up with a strange
backward organ loop and an awesome Woods style psych solo jam
and some tropical droneage for company. As the record
progresses it becomes trippier and more involving with layers
of tropical surf drone masking subtle melodies, scrap book
notation and strange mini-grooves. Final track 'Surf's Up'
seals the deal with some pure Miami surf drone and Hawaiian
palm tree space psych. Ace tunes, a strangely haunting lo-fi
recording and an awesome cover sleeve, what more can you ask
for. On Not Not Fun records and recieves my highest
reccommendation.
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01-Backyard [01:34]
02-Beach Point Pleasant [04:57]
03-Horizon [02:55]
04-Friends [03:25]
05-Dancing With The One You Love [03:00]
06-Gem [03:08]
07-Daily Vacation [03:33]
08-The Mall [02:18]
09-Surf's Up [11:02]
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35:52 min