PLEB TALK by Gadgen / Caribbean Health

"I know Trevor Coleman from his axe wielding in Forget The Times but this Caribbean Health tape (his second) is a totally different kind of beast! As with virtually everyone who rips in the legendary Forget The Times collective, no one makes music outside of the band that really sounds anything like Forget The Times (see Coastal Car, Moss Jaw, Dead Man’s Lifestyle, Josh Miller, etc.) but enough digressions yo, it’s like I’m only writing this for Already Dead Heads… folks, I’m not!

This here album called 'Pleb Talk' (interestingly also credited to Gadgen which it turns out is a moniker Trevor used when younger and decided to use in addition to Caribbean Health for this release) opens with dreamy reverse vocal loops and blissful synth tones, reminiscent of Boards Of Canada with an angelic choir and bird song. The vibe here is suburban stoner psychedelia by way of outsider dream pop transmissions. Very pleasant sounding material on here and dare I say "p chill."

The second track called "Same" rocks like something from the heyday of OSR Tapes, i.e. one-man band outsider rock. It sounds kind of sophisticated though, a sort of focused laziness/total afternoon stoned vibes, complete with excellent double-tracked vocal harmonies on the joint.

"Last Glob Of The Night" boasts some wicked phaser guitar and a groovy beat, with a sort of demented '50s garage rock vibe reminiscent of Atlas Sound. Josh Macala at Raised By Gypsies will certainly love this track and definitely pull in a not-so-obscure '90s reference! Whatever, shit is soulful dude! Beautiful synth accompaniment and hooks galore. Trevor is a terrific songwriter.

I really dig how "Napkin" flips it up on us vibe wise halfway through the track becoming a different thing entirely. "Pawnee" rips and has a wistful romantic nostalgia feel about it. "World Talk About Me" is a great bedroom loner anthem with some truly SKELETAL harmonies and VAMPing (look, any excuse I can get to throw some macabre shit in the review, I'm gonna go for it, so get over it!).

Trevor gets OUT for the extended jam piece known as "Vertical Dap." This one reminds me of deep New England psych-folk a la Sunburned Hand Of The Man or Dredd Foole. Hell, it rips like Coltrane in spirit, definitely the biggest departure and I really wanna hear more of this kind of splatter psycho-delia from Caribbean Health. This shit is wild, yo! Weirdo chanted spoken word tomfoolery over wicked tribal rhythms and Flying Saucer Attack-worthy blown-out guitar feedback which eventually fades into some futuristic otherworldly sci-freak 'Nightmare on Elm Street'-synth noodlin' and what sounds like folks running across the audio plane in yr head (if yr listenin' on headphones) with warped mutant vocals. Kinda reminds me of 'Strawberry Jam'-ear Animal Collective but like the best parts of that trip, not the twee but the truly out otherworldly dream zones. My fave jam on the joint (pass the joint?).

In closing, some serious lo-fi outsider home recording vibes that pop, a cozy, "v chill" listen with supreme crooner vocal stylings.

Folks, this is bedroom pop done right! Trevor, you’re welcome to shred at Skinny Apartment any time! I commend thee wealth of styles on here all falling under a unified aesthetic. Ridgewood ripper endorsed!"

David Drucker, Already Dead Tapes, 2019

All genre record label focused on small edition cassette, vinyl, and VHS releases.

Est. 2009

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