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Bob Drake — 13 Songs and a Thing
(Crumbling Tomes CTA 13, 2003, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2003-08-01

13 Songs and a Thing Cover art

Bob Drake’s fifth solo album is a return to roots as well as a mass consolidation of his previous concepts up to the present moment. From the first piece on the album, the two- minute vignette “The Chase”, it’s clear that Drake is again targeting high gothic drama. Simultaneously scary, creepy, and comical, the collection of fourteen pieces is modestly informed by his last and darkest endeavor, The Skull Mailbox and Other Horrors. The former Colorado native who has since emigrated to France appears to have no end in sight for his slanted ideas and how to expunge them from his system. The composer is also a purveyor of the twisted stomp so to speak (which may be an influence coined from Fred Frith, but more friendly in this context). The most representative track is “Rtuuf,” which includes perhaps the artist’s most brutal thrashing of his trusty six-string accomplice, that resolves nicely into an acoustic guitar romp and a saxophone led section. The piece closes with a brass section playing chords unfit for human consumption and is breathtakingly wonderful! On its heels is “Ten for a Dime” which lumbers onward like a drunken Frankenstein down a murky hallway. “Building with Bones” is a clash of percussion instruments that rains down like a spring hailstorm. It’s a pretty brief fourteen tracks, but overall the end is just as important as the means and every whimsical bit in between. This is the best album I have heard so far for 2003 and Drake’s most balanced work overall.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 27, 2003 releases

Related artist(s): Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer, Bob Drake

More info
http://bob-drake.bandcamp.com/album/13-songs-and-a-thing

 

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