Wednesday 26 October 2011
Round and round and round
Being self-deprecating in a publicity email isn’t the best way to get yourself noticed by bloggers, and I wouldn’t recommend it as a general rule, but when Matt LeGroulx, aka Expwy, told me in an email that his own work “…isn’t great but many people’s music isn’t great either and a portion of them do get some attention,” I had to agree with him (the part about other people’s mediocre music getting attention, I hadn’t listened to his music to pass judgement one way or the other). Let’s be honest, folks, in 2011, it’s easy for any Tom, Dick or Harrieta to plug some beats into GarageBand, lock themselves in the bathroom to record vocals, and have a virtual storefront set up within the hour to sell their lacklustre wares.
That’s why it’s a shame projects like Expwy can get missed among the masses. LeGroulx forgoes creating physical product, relying solely on free digital distribution and dissemination of his unique music. He’s not been one to shy away from experimentation and exploration. With his previous band Tiny Iota, LeGroulx recorded a double concept LP designed to have both albums played simultaneously (like The Flaming Lips’ Zaireeka) while still being perfectly listenable stand-alone records. In his solo Expwy incarnation, he’s followed his muse where it takes him, be it electro Brazilian or King Crimson-esque territory. Lately, he’s been spending time in New Your City, soaking up the history and atmosphere of place and turning those experiences into sound. I love the retro-inspired, organ infused vibrancy of “Park Row” from his newest collection, Dance Maul so much that I had to check out the rest of the disc.
I was blown away. Immediate comparisons that sprung to mind were Chad VanGaalen and Women (hinting that Expwy would fit in well over at Flemish Eye–hint, hint) based on the recording style (light on bass, heavy on reverb and scratchiness). But there’s also a distinctly retro flavour to Expwy that references 60s jangle pop (like the instantly adorable “Amory Hall”), that makes Dance Maul a modern classic. And the guitar solos! Honestly, you have to hear the guy play. “Amory Hall” would be worth the price of admission alone.
But of course, there is no price of admission, which is what Expwy was all about in the first place. Legroulx is giving this gorgeous album away for nothing. Nothing for him, I should say, because we the listeners are certainly the beneficiaries. This post started out as just a short little “LiSTEN” post that I was going to put up next week, but as I listened to and wrote about Expwy and Dance Maul, it became more and more obvious to me that I was creating something more; part commentary, part record review, all endorsement. Do yourself a favour, and head over to Bandcamp and download this record. Then do Matt LeGroulx a favour, and tell as many people as you can about Expwy.
03 – Park Row by Expwy
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 at 7:00 am and is filed under MP3, QBiM SPiNS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Elliott BROOD
