Chris Brokaw - I Ace Sociopath King (Already Dead, 2012)

Chris Brokaw is a busy man: his list of collaborators includes The Willard Grant Conspiracy, Pullman, Consonant, The Empty House Co-operative. He used to play in seminal indie rock bands Codeine and Come. He has played on recordings by Cobra Verde, Manta Ray, Rosa Chantswell, Karate, Via Tanie; and as an accompanist to recordings and performances by Steve Wynn, Evan Dando, Thalia Zedek, Alan Licht, Tara Jane O' Neill, crime writer George Pelecanos, and Rhys Chatham. He has written scores for theater and film. He has performed and recorded solo, over an impressive array of CDs, cassettes and LPs (one of which i discussed over here.

With this in mind, it is somewhat bewildering that he is not better known than he is. Sure, Codeine gets some love among the shoegaze faithful, and Come played with Johnny Depp on Kicks Joy Darkness, a tribute record to Jack Kerouac (a great record, btw, which i highly recommend.), but he has not attracted the same amount of adulation heaped on a Dean Wareham or an Adam Franklin. Its probably because his music is so non-assuming, steady and constant, like an unending tarmac highway, weaving its way through valleys, cornfields, and mist.

I've been appreciating the subtle, heartfelt beauty of his work for several years, so i was almost shocked and awed when i saw that my buddy Sean Hartman, co-founder of Already Dead Tapes out of Kalamazoo, Mi. had put out a cassette with Brokaw. I Ace Sociopathic King is a live document, recorded in Chicago, Il., and is split between two hemispheres; one electric, one acoustic. This is what Sean had to say, about the pairing:

"Chris Brokaw is a master performer. His music has a depth I've rarely seen matched and witnessing him live is a profoundly captivating experience. We're honored to have Chris join the family.
His first release with us is a live c40 recorded in 2011. Sides are divided between electric and acoustic tracks. If you've never heard Chris's music before, this is a perfect starting point. He's been around the block and the songs have only improved with age."

The most notable diversion from Brokaw's other flood of releases and collaborations is the presence of vocals, he sings a lot more on this record than previous works that i have heard. What we are presented with is one voice, one guitar; sparse but not thin, just not hiding anything. He's shining, out in the open, no obfuscating gauze of hiss and trickery. Clear and plain-spoken, Chris Brokaw's shimmering songs stand up well in the foot-lights. He shows himself to be romantic, thoughtful, weary at times, hopeful. This is my favorite kind of music right now, to be honest, warm as a dying fire, as late afternoon. Not flashy and ego-driven, it is subtle and graceful and humble. The guitars tremble and purr on I Ace Sociopath King; the electric side has a classy, classic surf-twang to it, the acoustic side is dry and biting. The vocals are clear and comprehensible, showing that his lyrics are inspired as well.

Jesus, i'm blown away!

The whole package sounds fucking great on the cassette format, and Already Dead always have a keen design sense; this is a necessary addition to yr library. This label just keeps getting better and better! They only made 200 of these, so don't wait and have to find it on eBay.
For first-time listeners and long-standing devotees alike, I Ace Sociopath King is a necessary addition to Chris Brokaw's canon.

Codeine is reforming for a select few dates, starting in April, and Chris will also be playing in a new duo with Stephen O' Malley, of Sunn O))) and Khanate fame, so scope his page to keep tabs on yr new favorite artist.

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Stuff i've been listening to

Dark times lately. Been meaning to put something up here for a while, but my brain has turned this project into buillding the Cistine Chapel, like everything has to be 'inspired' or 'good' or 'legit'. Well, fuck it, i need to keep pushing the rock uphill, Sisyphus style. Here's some shit that i've been listening to lately, that is helping me to maintain my sanity. I've been nursing a broken heart, and have chosen to deluge myself in falling arpeggios of guitar chords. Losing myself in technicality, in one of the only damn things on this earth that has any prayer of making me feel any better. So here we go:

John Fahey. The man's influence is impossible to calculate. Patron saint of the American Primitive. Guardian of the curmudgeonly record-collectors. I have been losing myself in 'When the Spring Time Comes Again.' Almost everything he ever did is indispensable, so i have chosen The Legend of Blind Joe Death arbitrarily, maybe a good place to jump in, if you don't know 'im. get it pw: levente

Probably my favorite of those that have come in the wake of Saint Fahey, Jack Rose has mastered the Primitive styles, blues ragtime country etc., and runs it through an opium-hued lens, similar to Sir Richard Bishop. I had the good fortune to see him play in Louisville, KY last summer, his mastery of the six-string is jaw-dropping. His work with Pelt is bestial, as well. I love his guitar ragas, his rags are no slouch either. This is Kensington Blues. hear it

Chris Brokaw was the drummer for Codeine and guitar player for Boston-based Come. This is his second solo record, an all instrumental guitar album, mainly acoustic. It is more Celtic oriented than the previous two, but it shares their virtuosity and imagination. He strays from the pack with the title track 'Canaris', which is behemoth! Colossal feedback sculpture, clocking in at almost 18 minutes. Who needs drugs? check it

Weepy music, to rock yrself to sleep by. Hushed; intimate and immediate, velvet whispering in yr ear like the ghosts of lovers past. 'Ghosts and Lovers' is my favorite track, no pun intended, but its really a mood piece, an album's album, not really top-40 material, but it IS probably Marissa Nadler's best album, to date. feel it

When i can't handle being curled up in a little ball any longer, only pure undiluted rage will do! Get you off of the couch and out into the streets, throwing bricks and hurling invectives! This is probably my favorite Stoner record ever, but its so hard to pick just one! Hard hitting, hard drinking, hard riffing, rock yr fucking socks off, sometimes nothing else will do. Burn it

I can't stop listening to Tom Waits, i mean obsessively, all day every day. It is almost frightening. He makes me feel that it is okay to be a lovable misanthropic loser, to take comfort in my persona like a woolen sweater, or a beat up old fedora. This is one of his more recent joints, and has some of my favorites: the mysterious 'Alice', the maudlin 'Flower's Grave', the decadent Weimar cabaret of 'Kommienezuspadt', the burlesque of 'Table Top Joe', and the genuinely unsettling 'We're All Mad Here'. As i get older, i am learning to appreciate so many aspects and nuances of Mr. Wait's music, a discography that just keeps unfolding like a hallucinatory lotus, or a pack of Camel's. This music, and others like it, are showing me what it is to be Grown Up. Which is fucked, but unavoidable. Nursing a grown-up broken heart. Joy. Nurse It pw: www.pebl.pl
None of this music will probably make you feel any better, and most of it may be an out and out bummer, like many of my recent posts. And there's probably lots more what that comes from, as i peel back my skin to fill the void. So happy listening, hopefully i'll see you around.