|||

Album review by Christian Best

Greetings from Marquette: Joe Pera Talks With You Season 2 digital album by Skyway Man (2020)

As suggested by its lengthy name, this is the soundtrack for season two of comedian Joe Pera’s underappreciated comedy series on Adult Swim. The show itself is quite singular, a holdout in a time of instant gratification, of 30 second clips, of engineered digital addiction. This is a slow-paced, meandering show. It celebrates and unveils the gentle beauty and humor that can be found in everyday life, in mundanity, should you be open to it. So I begin this review with a question: Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the beauty of everyday human interaction?

Last week a worker at Royal Farms gave me a free piece of chicken. He said I seemed like I needed it and unceremoniously slipped it into my bag with a wink. This moment of kindness felt like a lightning strike. I do believe we are inherently good. Before and after this tender event, I listened to this record. They’re therefore inherently linked.

This brings me to the music, created by Oakland based James Wallace, aka Skyway Man. This suite of six tracks is as gentle, conversational, and subtly sentimental as the series it accompanies. The palette is warm-hued, the instrumentation cozy, familiar and accessible. Each composition shares a melodic optimism. This music could lazily be labelled Americana” but that would ignore the overarching, meticulous eye cast toward textural elements throughout. I feel this record shares as much common DNA with Krautrock/Kosmische records of the 70s — or perhaps something released under the Ethiopiques series — as it does American country music. The production centers the sonic character of the studio room itself, its warming influence acting as a silent protagonist, interpreting and shaping the listener’s perception.

Introductory track A Sugarloaf” sets the tone. Delicate piano reminiscent of Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou and acoustic guitar intersect. Piano notes playfully invoke falling rain. The piece is over before we have time to settle into the ambience, but the piece serves to invite the listener toward its warm glow. Wires (instrumental)” plays out over a trilogy of movements, jumping from a guitar led march, into a triumphant locked horn section, before spilling into its bar-room boisterous honky-tonk conclusion. Each section a fluid continuation of the one before, gaining momentum as we go. The central statement of this collection of songs is Driving to Milwaukee”. Built around a buoyant, spacious bass line and shuffling drum beat, woodwinds shift between collective statements and individual flourishes. Each participating voice is allowed room to speak alone — saxophone, flute, bass clarinet. Each sound warm and wooly, each line conversational, never indulgent. Album closer Dinner with the Neighbor’s Kids”, like the introduction, centers the piano. Upright bass and drums pedal the track along, marimba and strings punctuate the progression. As with each track in this collection, the tone is measured and wistful.

From start to finish, Greetings from Marquette invokes a sentimental, observational tone. Like driving through a city and observing strangers going about their daily lives. If you feel there is beauty in that, then this could be your soundtrack. And with the RoFo employee in mind, keep your eyes peeled for the gentle ways we extend each other kindness every day.

Christian Best

IG: @christians_worst

Up next "Holiday" by Serena Devi Two stories by Robert John Miller
Latest posts THE HUMAN TUMBLEWEED by Jon Doughboy Two poems by barboring Three poems by Emily Van Ryn AN EVENING WITH MUSCLE, BALACLAVA AND THE JULIA SET [Anything for a Weird Life] Four poems by Chris Mason JOURNAL (takes #18, #22, #29) by nat raum Two poems by Geo McCandlish AN EVENING AT WAX ATLAS [Anything for a Weird Life] BRUISER DISPATCH: A Night of Experimental Film + Music + Animation TEXARKANABAMA'S REVENGE by Mike Itaya HEAD: A HISTORY by Alicia Potee TRIPPER "FACELESS" EP RELEASE [Anything for a Weird Life] NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL DISPATCH by Alex Lei WOOD by Georgia-May Stone RUPERT CRASH by Tempest Miller WHICH BAND SHOULD PLAY WHEN? [Anything for a Weird Life] FOR THE LOVE OF THE MASK by Michael Zunenshine Two Poems by Rob Kempton TOUCH by Tori McCandless YOUR FIRST SCENE REPORT [Anything for a Weird Life] HALF TIME by Dan Williams JAKE DEPREE AND THE CASTLE OF WORMS by Andrew Buckner SCENE REPORT: Twig Harper @ Current Space [Anything for a Weird Life] BABY BROTHER DEAD by Nadim Silverman HUNTING by Miller Ganovsky IN PRAISE OF BALTIMORE SHOWPLACE [Anything for a Weird Life] Excerpts from PARANOID CITI by Shannon Hearn IMPRESSIONS OF SHINY FEST 3 [Anything for a Weird Life] THE DARK CASTLE by David C. Porter BRUISER showcase at the Baltimore Book Festival - Saturday 9.28 PLOT OF A MOVIE by Mary Klein