Fog's latest self-titled release (on the eclectic/experimental Ninja Tune label--which also releases outsider, beat-driven music by DJ Food and Kid Koala) is a guilt-free excursion into that middle ground where guitar picks and fader curves bleed together. Taking cues from bands like Olivia Tremor Control, whose albums sound like lost psychedelic reels from 1969, Fog manages to create a pastiche of folk, psych, and indie rock, along with a futurist turntablism style.
The first track of Fog begins with a virtuous vocal narrative--as do many hiphop and dance albums--on ideals men should live by. Rather than breaking into a booty-shaking jam, though, it leads into a white-noise wash of record samples and scratches. The blowup comes not with a bling-blingin' joint, but with a spare four-track acoustic guitar, a handmade DJ beat, and lazy, stream-of-consciousness vocals, like, "The casserole was good, the drives were so nice, welcome to the worst part of your life." Who says you can't have your Camper Van Beethoven and your Q-Bert too? The next track is an instrumental hiphop piece that proves Broder is not just some turntable bandwagoning hipster, but someone who possesses serious turntable skills, with enough intellect to deconstruct his own technique. The album does feel a bit schizophrenic at times, but it is the lack of self-consciousness that holds it together through 13 tracks of lo-fi songs, beats, and sound collages.
In the grand scheme of things, there definitely are artists constructing better beats and turntable tricks than you'll hear on this release, and there are artists whose songwriting and melodies are more precise than these, but what's important is that Broder's style captures the transitory state of contemporary music. There is an army of people waiting to be elevated above the confines of both traditional rock and turntablism/DJ culture, and Andrew Broder helps unlock the shackles in both worlds. NICOLAE WHITE
Fog w/FCS North, Plan B, and the Getter Flash, Sat Aug 24 at I-Spy, 1921 Fifth Ave, 256-9667, 9 pm, 21+, $10.
Speaker Freak note: Also on Sat Aug 24, Cut Culture will be holding a used vinyl sale at Vain (2018 First Ave). Vendors include KEXP's Kid Hops, Uniting Soul's Zion 12, and Robo.Trash's Kris Markle, among others. The one-day event goes from noon until 6 pm. Call 683-3809 for info.
