Today I picked up Chad VanGaalen’s new record, Diaper Island (on Flemish Eye in Canada, Sub Pop in the U.S.A.).
CVG is one of those artists who runs hot and cold for me. Apart from a few stellar tracks (“Clinically Dead”, “Kill Me in My Sleep”) I didn’t particularly enjoy his first record, Infiniheart (2004). His second record, Skelliconnection (2006) was stunningly brilliant and one of my favourite records from the mid-2000s. With my appetite whetted for Soft Airplane (2008) I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed. Many critics seemed to like it but I could never get into it. I found it disjointed and a bit unfocused. That might be an unfair criticism of a musician whose basement recordings, to be fair, can be a bit erratic but it was, in my view, remarkably lacking in cohesion compared to Skelliconnection.
At any rate, this is a long way of saying that I was looking forward to the release of Diaper Island with some trepidation. However, a good friend of mine, whose taste I trust, texted me while I was back in Vancouver last week raving about how great it is. With my interest piqued, I rushed over to Criminal Records today to pick it up before I leave for Paris tomorrow.
Listening to the record this evening, I’m very impressed. In fact, I think Diaper Island is outstanding. A few things, in particular, stand out. This is a much more guitar-driven rock record than anything he’s done hitherto. The production is better. And the songs are quirky and existential without getting too tangential, something that plagued Soft Airplane.
Get it.
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