IndieMusicReview.NET

Bernie
Legend of the Mythical Man-month
reviewed by Gary Levinson

Bernie is really noisy, in a quiet kind of way. He is a sonic deep diver whose deep-sound plunges and sound-bed wanderings create rhythms and patterns that are intricate, interesting, and catchy.

The opening song on the album, Legend of the Mythical Man-month, is Federal Funk, and begins with a radio transmission of Richard Nixon declaring his non-crookedness. This reminds one immediately of Ron Howard’s film, Frost/Nixon. If this film was the source of inspiration for this number is unknown, but most listeners jaws will drop when Nixon states so earnestly: “I have never profited from public service”.

“Trying hard to live my life my way…” Ah, aren’t we all. Rut is my favorite track on the album, but they’re all good, and demonstrate a variety that is refreshing in this day of successful-recipe-songs.

Bernie creates soundscapes with a variety of textures. This album, the culmination of 5 years of studio work was is an inspired mix of jazz, blues, Pink Floyd, rockabilly, recording, playing and mixing all thrown together (look back at that opening sentence).

I really like it.

I don’t think you’ll hear Bernie on the radio, but the best art never is, and Bernie is great art. If you’re interested in hearing what sound, electronics, and talent can produce, Bernie is definitely worth a listen.

Reviewed by Gary Levinson

http://cobzilla.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 2:36 pm and is filed under CD Reviews. 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.