Vol. Iii: Songs For Astronomers

No FCC detected. Favorites in order of appreciation: Tracks 4, 2, 9, 1, 7

(All songs composed, arranged, and performed by: “D. Klein”)

Mellow indie, ambient, acoustic, minimalist album. Bon Iver, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Penguin Café Orchestra. Reverb/echo/distortion other FX to create range of vocal timbres. Yes, it’s a plethora of effects, El Guapo. Sounds like D. Klein could probably be a punk singer. Or, a preacher. But, instead sings to hypnosis. Spacey ambient synth swells. Electric/acoustic guitars noodle about. Is that a sitar? Minimal percussion using bongos and plucking or strumming guitars to keep beats. No rock rhythms or rock drumming. You will walk away humming The Final Frontier (track 7 reprised on 11), even if the track annoys you.

1) (4:06) Adolescent innocence to vocals. Spacey background. Acoustic noodling. Bongos.
2) (2:01) Neat sitar/synth keeps the beat. Doubled vocals with intense blurts of urgency. Sense of humor?
3) (2:01) Instrumental/soundscape. Simple lines intertwining, swells of cheap sounding/lacking depth symphonic synth.
4) (2:52) Spoken poem echoing growl/hoarse voice. Harmonium/ squeezebox. Pitter patter of percussion.
5) (5:52) Repetition annoying after a couple of minutes. Neat transition to super reverb guitar in middle, and synth swells. Steady beat created from distortion guitar and plucking acoustic guitar.
6) (0:42) Perhaps Troy’s genuine voice. Clean reverb echo vibrato guitar.
7) (2:48) Voice processor distortion makes for a bit of goatish vibrato. Squeezebox. Guitar finger picking. Background swells. Bongos.
8) (3:05) A blend of something bluegrass/ folksy, but perhaps a blues topic. Melody of a Bob Dylan song that wasn’t.
9) (2:17) Heavy strumming on acoustic guitar. Vocal twang/delivery of “Smoke signals” reminiscent of Les Claypool. Squeaking in of violin/synth in background.
10) (0:47) Organ with 60s/70s vibe. Phaser on acoustic guitar.
11) (2:57) Reprise from track 7 (Not to be confused with Iron Maiden’s last smashing album, nor a reference to Star Trek). If you’re looking for a big finish, don’t look here.
Randall Holmes