Public Speaking
An Apple Lodged In My Back
Whited Sepulchre (2023)
It is always difficult to balance between creativity and immediacy. For Jason Anthony Harris, and his project Public Speaking, this is a much-welcomed challenge. Indeed, Harris’ new work An Apple Lodged In My Back does not shy away from its pop sensibilities. As “Swollen Feet” comes in, the soulful and intimate approach usually produced by mainstream artists comes through. It is catchy and easygoing, but soon enough everything gets inverted. The jazz injections become prominent, slowly navigating through laid-back motifs, as with “Sleepwalking” or reaching for frantic crescendos. In the same breath, Harris lays out a backdrop of organ music, creating a mesmerizing scenery. Without missing a beat, the record then turns to volatile paths, embracing an IDM mindset, upsetting the straight progression. This appreciation of the pop immediacy, but still an unwillingness to be confined within its borders, makes a strange parallel to the career progression of Scott Walker. Instead of going full-throttle into the dark depths of The Drift, Harris makes a counterfactual case. What would happen if you injected avant-garde ideas in Scott 4? The neo-classical parts of “Manifest” attempt to answer this question, and there is even something of an upbeat element that finds its way in “Right Angle Wrong Shape.” … Read more
Les Lullies
Mauvaise Foi
Slovenly (2023)
I’m not going to pretend I know any French, but I can tell you that the rhythm of the language … Read more
Be Your Own Pet
Mommy
Third Man (2023)
Retrospective genre creation by both grizzled music critics and TikTokers has had many victims, from the constituents of Twee to … Read more
