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Kaspar Hauser | The Tin Can Gong

Life in the dark room.
CD, Spacesuit

Tekst: Dave Weil

Publicatiedatum: 20 augustus 2002

In history, there was a boy, a very strange, enchanted boy (WAIT, why am I singing Nature Boy?), a feral boy who turned up in Nuernburg, Germany in the early part of the 19th Century, barely able to communicate, but who soon became the object of much speculation because of his resemblance to the Royal Family of the Grand Duke of Baden. His name? Kaspar Hauser. Perhaps you've seen the movie by Werner Herzog called Jeder Für Sich Und Gott Gegen Alle (Every Man For Himself And God Against All), otherwise known as The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser. It details the strange story, which ends with a knife in the heart; a knife that ended the possibility that he might actually enter the court of the House of Baden. This was a possibility that was perceived as a threat to the establishment

Experimental filmmaker and musician Tom Comerford has appropriated the name for his latest band, and it's a folky, rocky, CBGBesque pastiche of Wilco, They Might Be Giants, The Kinks, Lou Reed, and Neil Young; the first four from a vocal standpoint and the latter for his sense of a wobbly, catholic aesthetic. Out-of-tune guitars, fanciful, evocative lyrics, and a heartfelt vocal delivery make this an interesting album — an album that takes you back to a time when music could be intentionally coarse and loose. Sparse, this album is the equivalent of the black-walled bar — complete with stinky bathrooms — where you could see an artist working out his vision on the stage from week to week.

There's acoustic music, garage band vibe, and campfire improv, all combined to spiral away from the center and create a dreamy, yet forceful house of mirrors.

With a name like Kaspar Hauser and a title like The Tin Can Gong, you can be forgiven for thinking in terms of atmospheric space rock. Well, this is about the furthest thing from it. Spacey, perhaps. Atmospheric, absolutely. But you won't find synthesizers or pothead pixies; just a singular artist translating his black-and-white, grainy film personna into the aural equivalent of camera obscura (you can read about such a film experiment of Comerford's on his website, noted below). If you like your music pared to the bone, this will be right up your alley. It's recorded mostly live-to-8-track, and it has the feel of tattered, black velvet.

Think of this as a band busking in Berlin, and toss some money in the hat. You won't be sorry. Just remember that it's a "band" from the U.S. Midwest, not an experimental rock band who are living as squatters in Kreutzberg.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/kaspar-hauser/the-tin-can-gong/1789/
Meer Kaspar Hauser op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/kaspar-hauser