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 way of a great deal of kinds and subgenres, to not point out labels, launch buildings and distro. Now settled on his personal Memento Sound imprint, His newest EP Gentle Roars remains to be stuffed with a great deal of surprises, completely different kinds and heavy emotion.
1st Base Runner is a kind of artists who can discover and experiment to his coronary heart’s need however nonetheless in some way have a definite core type, and that’s undoubtedly what we see on Gentle Roars. Vacillating between a type of grungy model of The Remedy and Tom Waits submit punk, with a heavy dose of creepy dream pop (assume post-Crystal Castles Alice Glass), this EP incorporates 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 combination, and transitioning into the rather more open and organic-sounding “Pushing Away,” the Waits comparability holds extra weight for this specific EP. The submit punk is heavy (triple pun rating!) with this monitor, 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 track.
But anther shock comes with “Useless Wooden,” as some surf rock/psychobilly peeks by way of within the guitars and type of creates a sense of driftwood, particularly when the monitor transitions from principally minimal rock to a fuller, extra digital vibe through some well-placed synths and sound design. 1st Base Runner has a novel manner 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 calmly 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 inventive 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 monitor, the video for “Planter” begins off hyper-real, with grainy, black and white closeup photographs of Husmann. The shorts distort increasingly because the monitor goes on, nevertheless, transferring with the emotion of the music and lyrics. The message appears to be tied up in self-perception, making selections about who one desires to be each in life and within the music business, and the emotional weight that carries. The video actually drives these factors residence in stark, nearly excruciating realism. An ideal visible illustration of the monitor.
The rawness of 1st Base Runner’s work allways stands out, as does his talent with type and manufacturing. Gentle Roars is each a continuation of that rawness and an enlargement of it into completely different kinds and new sound design to connote even deeper and extra advanced emotions. That is presumably as a result of he feels freer to create what he desires together with his personal label and distro, or just the following step in what has already been a captivating musical journey for this venture, however both manner Husmann’s emitional honesty and talent are as soon as once more the largest surprises for his rising viewers.
Gentle Roars is out now and may be streamed on Spotify or bought on Bandcamp or the Memento Sound web site. For extra of 1st Base Runner’s movies, take a look at his YouTube channel.
