Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Bastro - Sing The Troubled Beast


Year: 1990
Label: Homestead

Everything everyone ever says about Bastro goes something like this; "David Grubs...post Squirrel Bait...Washington D.C....Bitch Magnet...pre Gastr Del Sol...drummer for Tortoise and Sea and Cake...math rock". So that's pretty much it. You know what you need to know in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not you will pilfer this download. Goodnight and god bless.
I will say this one other thing before I leave you to the music. Bastro started as one type of band (an extension of the mathmatical pounding practiced by Squirrel Bait [who also offered up Slint as it's other offspring]) and ended as something else entirely (the more restrained and dynamic melancholy of the future Gastr Del Sol), and this record was the transition between the two. Yeah, it's still a "math rock" record, but as the album progresses you begin to hear a wider palette of sounds, and dare I say, melody. Drag City repackaged his album with it's predecessor Bastro Diablo Guapo on one cd a few years ago, but that first album was more abrasive and more...how do you say..."Chicago" in it's approach, so I think presenting Sing The Troubled Beast on it's own merits is more interesting.  





2 comments:

James Joyce said...

Hey Gray - what about Rode Hard and Put Up Wet? Before John McEntire was in the band. Did that not get reissued by Drag City?

Anthony said...

Fuckin' A. one of the best blogs I've come across in a long time. keep it up.

 
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