Tuesday, July 21, 2009

From the Future- Lord Scrummage


From the Future is the first full length debut for experimental trio Lord Scrummage. The Detroit based band is made of Conor Edwards, Alex Lauer, and Ben Christensen, all current members of indie rockers Benny Stoofy.

The term “scrummage” stems from the genre which refers to a collective group of musicians in the Detroit music scene who share an underground experimental sound.

The first track entitled “W.W.D.D.” takes world music to a whole different level with its infused tribal drums and hindu sitar rifts over faint female vocals. Despite being a mere 2 minutes, the track proves to be an appropriate instrumental interlude into an experimental cough syrup world.

The melodic instrumental arrangements in “Clyd Moop How Did You Know,” further propel the listener into an abyss of laser lights and imaginative space rock.

“Abe Lincoln’s Skeleton,” is a mind altering substance in the form of 70’s science program keyboards and haunting vocals that highlight the plaintive psychedelia of the piece while remaining an organic layer in the fabric of submersive consciousness.

The track “Captain Rat,” begins with an ambient Final Fantasy piano riff admist lyrics about animals before transporting the listener to a simulated Rainforest CafĂ© experience topped with bird squawking, lion roaring, insect buzzing goodtime. Like many of the tracks on the album, the analog-synth clouds billowing around barely lucid vocoder vocals offers the listener an escape from the “real world.”

Truthfully, Lord Scrummage is the equivalent of licking an entire LSD sheet and finding yourself sitting between Dan Deacon and Deastro at a Black Moth Super Rainbow show.