Chad VanGaalen - Skelliconnection

Genre rock Publisher Sub Pop External Links Official Chad VanGaalen Website Official Sub Pop Website

I am so used to dudes who make music at home wearing their bedroom status like a badge of honor that I was sort of pleasantly surprised to find that Canadian Chad VanGaalen's new album almost sounds as if it were professionally recorded. I was even willing to overlook the obvious drum machine. Obviously it was all wishful thinking, 'cause the more I listened to Skelliconnection, the more claustrophobic it sounded, until it became abundantly clear that this album is so personal that if VanGaalen (rhymes with Van Halen, duh) could have engineered it so that this album were made entirely in his head and only playable in same he would've. There are songs I feel like I shouldn't even be listening to-possibly 'cause of the sub-Jonathan Richman lyrics, though. Actually, though, the lyrics are sort of endearing in the context of the album. Besides, VanGaalen did all the animation for the album's videos (included on the CD) himself, so he was probably really busy. The videos are awesome, by the way, so I'm willing to forgive Chadders.

We fear that which we cannot understand, and by "we" I mean "me," since my first instinct is to deride poor Chad rather than stop cringing for a minute and listen to Skelliconnection as a whole. I've been listening to a lot of power-pop and electronica and the experience has made me soft and spoiled. What? Real handclaps on "Wind Driving Dogs" instead of effects? You gotta be kidding. The banjo on "Wing Finger" isn't some kind of snarky Sufjan Stevens ripoff? (Well, VanGaalen's reedier-than-usual vocal on that song does make that entirely possible.) "Gubbbish" is meant to be spelled with three "b's"?

I'm ashamed of myself for not giving Skelliconnection a chance at first, but excited that I did. Beneath the bedroom production lies a world of quietly insidious melody and unexpected instrumentation, and the haunting imagery (especially on "Wind Driving Dogs") reminds me of the first Songs:Ohia album in a good way. Paradoxically, Skelliconnection is so personal that it's universal-I bet you could relate to it and you haven't even heard it yet. So what are you waiting for?