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John Vanderslice | Life and death of an American fourtracker

A fine line between what is on the cutting edge and bleeding edge.
CD, Barsuk

Tekst: Douglas Gush

Publicatiedatum: 23 oktober 2002

”Do you know that guy who stole your girlfriend in the summer of 95, he’s going to die.”

I am not sure if John Vanderslice has an analog 4-track anymore but I did read that he has a bad ass 24-track but maybe he uses an old school analog four track to screw around. Just to give some insight into what a four track and “fourtracker” are, I will make an attempt at a brief description.

A four track (derived from the Latin fourous trackous) is like an audio sketchpad for musicians. They were hunted by the plainsmen of the east and used as currency by Nordic tribes. Some of the more old school versions use cassette tapes as the recording medium. The newer, slicker versions of this device can burn cd’s or burn files on your computer. When handled craftily, these little recording tools can create sounds more genuine and beautiful than those recorded in studios with nerdy producers.

A fourtracker is an artist like John Vanderslice who can use a four track to create an organized whirlwind of sound. Vanderslice is a veteran in the indie music scene and has been creating music since 1995 with his band mates in MK Ultra. He has been pursuing a solo career for the past few years and produced three LP releases, Mass Suicide Occult Figurines, Time Travel Is Lonely, and most recently Life and Death of an American Fourtracker. I have to admit that I only just started getting into Vanderslice by way of a hot tip from a mustachioed friend on the west coast. The description given to me was a mix between Beck and an artsy guy from down the street. I bit into it big time.

Life and Death of an American Fourtracker is the fine work of a single songwriter and a few talented indie rock Hollywood Squares. Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) and Jim Eno (Spoon) were a few of the funk daddies that swung by to assist in the recording of this release. Vanderslice has a very keen sense of how to make you feel awkward and dizzy with his music, but oddly comfortable with his lyrics.

The Mansion is about a couple who are trying to work things out in a failing relationship, they even go on vacation to start anew. Then the guy finds the girl talking to another guy on a phone in the lobby of the hotel. Ouch. The lyrics are choice,“We set off in hope / of changing our lives / settled instead / on holiday inn / riverside.” Me And My 424 is basically an ode to the four track that helped him create his music, “Its not really 4 tracks / you can add and you can subtract / unlimited the sky above you / and me and my 424.”

In my opinion this was a great disc but it has its shortcomings compared to the other releases. I think there is a fine line between what is on the cutting edge and bleeding edge. Some of this tracks fall on the bleeding edge side of that line. When all is said and done, this disc is still a powerful release that will hopefully get Vanderslice some due recognition.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/john-vanderslice/life-and-death-of-an-american-fourtracker/1961/
Meer John Vanderslice op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/john-vanderslice