Roomsound [Enhanced]

1. trout silk

2. bottles and bones (shade & sympathy)

3. fisherman's wife

4. porno starlet vs. rodeo clown

5. tayzee nub

6. slow rt. hand

7. st. augustine (a belly full of swans)

8. wade in the water

9. rattlesnakes smell like split cucumbers

10. new black tooth

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Countrifying their warped blues rock, the band Red Red Meat have changed their lineup a tad, rechristened themselves "Califone," and released a rangy and enchanting debut album (the import CD Sometimes Good Weather Follows Bad People fleshes out two earlier EPs). Superficially, Roomsound recalls the best of the No Depression school of indie-hick moonshine. But despite the banjos, country-blues thumps, and hillbilly plaints, Califone sound as forwardly fresh as they do familiar. Sure singer Tim Rutili drawls a bit when he's tossing his word salad (smokestacks, stuffed mattresses, rodeo clowns), and you can almost see drummer Brian Deck reaching for the washboard. But Califone, like the clever Chicago boys they are, set their rusty retro truck on blocks of electronica: warbling synths, tape loops, spacey breaks, dub. By subtly unraveling the sound of authenticity, Califone paradoxically generate a shambling but emotionally convincing down-home vibe you'd demean by calling "post-country-rock." A Beggar's Banquet for Tortoise heads. --Erik Davis

Product Description
Roomsound, the debut full length from Califone, covers the same rustic, slightly ramshackle back forty that Tim Rutili has been ploughing since at least as far back as his previous band Red Red Meat. Only this time the tilled bedrock unveils the most vividly colored, luring crop of songs Rutili has ever harvested. The sleepy, country-blues picking and autumnal melodies are accented with striking splashes of electronic tone color, obsolete keyboards and off-kilter percussion. Lyrically, Roomsound penetrates the breath of pirates, poison apples at a tango contest and the waiting room between death and canonization where missionaries have quit and 19th-century whores are rescued for all the wrong reasons. Roomsound is a hauntingly unique and distinctive record of crafted and sculpted beauty.

Recorded and mixed at clava-sound by Brian Deck.

This is an enhanced CD. This disc contains 3 performance videos of Califone filmed live in an industrial bathroom. The videos are in QuickTime format.

Roomsound,Califone,Perishable,Indie Rock,Pop,Post-Rock/Experimental,Rock,Rock/Pop

Roomsound [Enhanced]

Average customer rating:

" . . . we'll play a Stones' song, sittin' on a fence . . ."

Roomsound
Califone
Manufacturer: Thrill Jockey
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Yellow House
Jimmywine Majestic
Bunny Gets Paid
Armchair Apocrypha
Greatest Stiffs

ASIN: B000DNVTJ0
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Tracks:

Trout Silk
Bottles And Bones (Shade And Sympathy)
Fisherman's Wife
Porno Starlet Vs. Rodeo Clown
Tayzee Nub
Slow Rt. Hand
St. Augustine (A Belly Full Of Swans)
Wade In The Water
Rattlesnakes Smell Like Split Cucumber
New Black Tooth

Album Description

This re-issue of Califone's debut full-length covers the same rustic, slightly ramshackle back forty that Tim Rutili has been ploughing since at least as far back as his previous band Red Red Meat. This time, the tilled bedrock unveils the most vividly colored, luring crop of songs Rutili has ever harvested. "Roomsound" is a hauntingly unique and distinctive record of crafted and sculpted beauty.

Album Description

Thrill Jockey is proud to reissue Roomsound, the debut full length from Califone. Originally released in April of 2001, Roomsound covers the same rustic, slightly ramshackle back forty that Tim Rutili has been ploughing since at least as far back as his previous band Red Red Meat. Only this time the tilled bedrock unveils the most vividly colored, luring crop of songs Rutili has ever harvested. Thrill Jockey 2005

Customer Reviews:

" . . . we'll play a Stones' song, sittin' on a fence . . .".......2007-02-18

I've followed this shambling Chicago indie country-blues outfit from Red Red Meat's Jimmywine Majestic through sidewinding projects like Loftus, oRSo, sin Ropas, and the earlier Califone ep's.

There are fewer folk involved in this one (pretty much Rutili-driven, I think), and it doesn't wander off the path into thorny thickets of tape loopery as these things sometimes have in the past - what we have here is probably as focused and confident a set of fuzzed-out folk-blues as they'll ever care to release.

Think Lou Reed and John Cale playing a not entirely acoustic set with the Glimmer Twins through Ike Turner's busted amp at Sun Studios.

Highlights: bottles and bones, slow rt hand.

Average customer rating:

New England Bluegrass?
Another great disc from Califone
Nearly Perfect
Interesting but not much more
better than Quicksand: Cradlesnakes

Roomsound
Califone
Manufacturer: Perishable
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Indie & Lo Fi | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Rock | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Letting Go

ASIN: B00005AXHH
Release Date: 2001-04-08

Tracks:

trout silk
bottles and bones (shade & sympathy)
fisherman's wife
porno starlet vs. rodeo clown
tayzee nub
slow rt. hand
st. augustine (a belly full of swans)
wade in the water
rattlesnakes smell like split cucumbers
new black tooth

Album Description

Roomsound, the debut full length from Califone, covers the same rustic, slightly ramshackle back forty that Tim Rutili has been ploughing since at least as far back as his previous band Red Red Meat. Only this time the tilled bedrock unveils the most vividly colored, luring crop of songs Rutili has ever harvested. The sleepy, country-blues picking and autumnal melodies are accented with striking splashes of electronic tone color, obsolete keyboards and off-kilter percussion. Lyrically, Roomsound penetrates the breath of pirates, poison apples at a tango contest and the waiting room between death and canonization where missionaries have quit and 19th-century whores are rescued for all the wrong reasons. Roomsound is a hauntingly unique and distinctive record of crafted and sculpted beauty.

Recorded and mixed at clava-sound by Brian Deck.

This is an enhanced CD. This disc contains 3 performance videos of Califone filmed live in an industrial bathroom. The videos are in QuickTime format.

Customer Reviews:

New England Bluegrass?.......2006-09-20

Don't quote me on that but that is how I would describe the sound of Califone having lived in rural New England and heard bands with a similar sound. I would describe it as a jazz bluegrass mix with ambient synthesizers and laid back vocals. Recommended for the adventurous music listeners wanting to expand their music listening horizons from what you normally might hear.

Another great disc from Califone.......2006-05-09

Plenty of great songs here, definitely worth a listen (or a few hundred).

Nearly Perfect.......2005-10-29

There are days when I think that this album is as close to perfect as any I own. The songs are smart, original, and well rendered. The instrumentation is an understated and erie blend of acoustic roots music, early electronica, and blues-inflected guitar work. The melodies are interesting, and stay with you, even when the words don't. The textures are delicious and hold up to repeated listening. The best thing about the album, though, is that there is nothing quite like it out there, at least that I have heard. These guys found a sound that is beautiful and creepy, edgy and slinky. I've had it in fairly heavy rotation for a year now. If you ever get a chance to see them live, do it.

Interesting but not much more.......2004-03-12

The lyrics present a collage of imagery that is intriguing at first, but every song is written in the same style, which gets annoying after a while. The same can be said for the melodies. These sound like assembly line songs all packaged in the same wrapper.

better than Quicksand: Cradlesnakes.......2004-01-27

sounds real pretty.

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