Small Black
Small Black
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Label: Cassclub / Unsigned
It may sound like the set-up of a bad joke, but “two guys from Brooklyn hole up with a Casio in an uncle’s Long Island attic space and make an album…” isn’t an attempt at crude musical humor. Josh Kolenik and Ryan Heyner, who make up the indie recording duo Small Black, did just that and produced an album as impressively experimental as the method with which it was created. Armed with keyboards, samplers and beat machines, the pair created their debut EP for the lo-fi, noise-pop set.
Kolenick, a former member of the defunct eletro-acoustic band Slowlands, teamed with Heyner for the attic sessions to produce, what they term “minimal Casio noise pop.” This musical incarnation successfully showcases Kolenick’s undeniable lyrical skills and the duo’s ability to create a multi-layered sound indicative of a quality greater than with which it was created. But where Small Black’s lyrics enrapture and sound engulf, the entire album is overshadowed by the scratchy noise quality of its production.
“Despicable Dogs,” the opening track, has an unmistakable element of charm, despite its simple rhythm. Aided by a popular underground remix, by hazy dream-pop instrumental genius-in-the-making Washed Out, Kolenik’s lyrics are massaged into the intricately beautiful electro-ballad they were begging to become. And while the song is undoubtedly catchy, with an intelligent lyrical arrangement, you find yourself lost in a maze of reverb and resonance while constantly struggling to hear the lyrics. “Weird Machines” has an equally confusing enjoyment factor. A down-beat, synth-jangle fusion of mechanical distortion and drum machine, it displays Small Black’s talent for creating rhythmic tracks with cogent lyrics; but the lyrical content, again, battles the jagged sound quality.
Where the duo shines is the latter portion of the album. “Pleasant Experiences” has a bold pop melody and a sophisticated key structure that allows the sexy and haunting lyrics to lie upon them beautifully. “Lady in the Wires”, the dance track of the album, features a clickety-clack marching beat guiding lush Casio key work.
Small Black is capable of catchy rhythms and impressive lyrical content. Their debut is noteworthy, for sure, and while the scratchy lo-fi quality of their arrangements somewhat work on several songs, it nearly kills on others; an artistic choice I’m sure would have netted a far better album had they reconsidered.
by KayJay
