Zwerg - Played Wits (c) 2000 Waspy Micmac Records
Artist....: Zwerg
Album.....: Played Wits
Type......: Album
Source....: CDDA
Tracks....: 10
Genre.....: Synthpop
Label.....: Waspy Micmac Records
Catalogue#: WMCD-03
Encoder...: LAME 3.97
Quality...: VBR kbps / 44.1KHz / Joint-Stereo
URL.......: http://www.zwerg.ca/
Tracklist:
----------
01 From Nome To Nain 04:41
02 Solferino 04:55
03 At Thingvellir 06:30
04 Red-Feathered Sunshine 05:07
05 Rooty Too-Shoot 06:04
06 The Lamia 06:44
07 In The Deplorable Dream 03:58
08 Formane 05:15
09 Just As I Am 04:58
10 Inside To You 06:28
Total:76,5 MB / 54:40 min
Release Notes:
--------------
Zwerg is the one-man project of Jason Betts, and "Played Wits" is
actually his second album, having been preceded by "To Myopic Mutts".
As you can see from the album titles alone, Zwerg is not your normal
synthpop. Either he memorized the dictionary, or Jason Betts is very
good at creating words, because phrases like "Darkcloud's rolene in but
he's no heel of a guy" or "As my sprites paint some burpy pop" have to
leave you wondering.
But once you listen closely, and move beyond the undeniably quirky
nature of the lyrics, you'll find some genuinely compelling pop songs.
Ordinarily, though, I'd be raking him over the coals and making
barbeque for the vocals. There's a awful lot of vibrato in his vocals
that's really not all that necessary. However, somehow, the occasional
excessive vibrato only adds to the quirky appeal of this very unusual
musician. Sure, his lyrics at times may sound 10 times more unusual
than Ronnie Martin's in "We Are The Music Makers", but somehow.. that
only adds to the appeal. Songs such as "From Nome To Nain", "At
Thingvellia", "Inside, To You" and "Red-Feather Sunshine" all have an
unusual appeal that I just can't deny. I personally really liked the
version of "Just As I Am", but I understand that not everyone who reads
this will find it as appealing.
All in all, I think this will appeal greatly to fans of off-beat
synthpop. Those who are really loving the new Alan Replica "Clockworks,
Juliet" album or I, Synthesist's album "Avalanche" will find this very
appealing. It certainly won't be for all tastes, but I think you might
surprise yourself at how much you enjoy it.
Zwerg - Played Wits [synthpop.net, May 22, 2004]