After having adopted him for 2 years and thru quite a few permutations of releases, one factor we at YEDM can say about 1st Base Runner (Tim Husmann) is he by no means ceases to shock. By no means skimping on high quality, the Austin songwriter and producer has run by a great deal of types and subgenres, to not point out labels, launch constructions and distro. Now settled on his personal Memento Sound imprint, His newest EP Gentle Roars continues to be stuffed with a great deal of surprises, completely different types and heavy emotion.
1st Base Runner is a type of artists who can discover and experiment to his coronary heart’s want however nonetheless someway have a definite core type, and that’s positively what we see on Gentle Roars. Vacillating between a kind of grungy model of The Remedy and Tom Waits put up punk, with a heavy dose of creepy dream pop (assume post-Crystal Castles Alice Glass), this EP accommodates shock after shock for followers whereas nonetheless being unflinchingly 1st Base Runner.
The aptly named EP opener “Within the Starting” has an eerie and minimal opening earlier than heavy, theatrical drums introduce that Remedy nod with Fascination Avenue-type guitars and sound design. As at all times, the tough, heady vocals add a little bit of grunge or Tom Waits to the combo, and transitioning into the way more open and organic-sounding “Pushing Away,” the Waits comparability holds extra weight for this explicit EP. The put up punk is heavy (triple pun rating!) with this observe, the sound design open and empty and even a bit deadened within the drums, although they nonetheless have that complexity to tie into the primary tune.
But anther shock comes with “Useless Wooden,” as some surf rock/psychobilly peeks by within the guitars and kind of creates a sense of driftwood, particularly when the observe transitions from largely minimal rock to a fuller, extra digital vibe through some well-placed synths and sound design. 1st Base Runner has a novel method of protecting the EDM in his work, even when its at its most acoustic and seemingly sonically sparse, and each “Useless Wooden” and its successor, the frivolously pop-y “Give Up the Finish” are nice examples of this.
Gentle Roars closes with the contemplative “Planter,” for which 1st Base Runner as soon as once more teamed up with artistic director Gilly Dent, who’s well-known, in fact, for his work with Radiohead on the “King of Limbs” and labored on two different movies with Husmann, the animated masterpiece “Break Even” and the IMDB-worthy “Man Overboard.” Following the acoustic-morphed-electronic timeline of the observe, the video for “Planter” begins off hyper-real, with grainy, black and white closeup photographs of Husmann. The shorts distort increasingly because the observe goes on, nevertheless, transferring with the emotion of the music and lyrics. The message seems to be to be tied up in self-perception, making decisions about who one desires to be each in life and within the music trade, and the emotional weight that carries. The video actually drives these factors house in stark, virtually excruciating realism. An ideal visible illustration of the observe.
The rawness of 1st Base Runner’s work allways stands out, as does his ability with type and manufacturing. Gentle Roars is each a continuation of that rawness and an enlargement of it into completely different types and new sound design to connote even deeper and extra advanced emotions. That is probably as a result of he feels freer to create what he desires along with his personal label and distro, or just the following step in what has already been an interesting musical journey for this mission, however both method Husmann’s emitional honesty and ability are as soon as once more the largest surprises for his rising viewers.
Gentle Roars is out now and will be streamed on Spotify or bought on Bandcamp or the Memento Sound web site. For extra of 1st Base Runner’s movies, try his YouTube channel.
