DIXIE’S DEATH POOL – The Man With Flowering Hands

Lee Hutzulak’s latest work will change the way you think about any household object you lay your eyes upon. The twelve tracks, some improvised, some not, all feature a mind-bending mix of homemade instruments (in one interview, Hutzulak mentions stretching lamp springs over a cast-iron frying pan) and live recordings. Wild and wonderful as this idea is, it doesn’t always translate to good sound. On “Sunlight is Collecting On My Face,” there’s a consistent buzzing and static clicking that’s so annoying I just want to swat it away. “Science Fiction” closes with two minutes of nothing BUT this, which is only just bearable. It’s both fun and utterly hopeless to try and name the sounds I hear – a swing creaking, a vortex of chalk, an elephant in a monsoon, violins playing while spider silk streams out of the strings. Tiny monkey fart into junkyard tires. Yeah, okay, I know what this must sound like… Well, YOU give this a listen before bedtime and then tell me what you’re thinking, mister! This collage of sounds isn’t particularly charming or calming. In fact, when I hear horrible gnashing cat teeth, I don’t like it at all. But that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting or thought-provoking. Perhaps I should like it more because of that very fact. Try it yourself. (Leisure Thief, dixiesdeathpool.com) Adrienne Yeung

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