Humanistic

Due to the effects of the Borders Mind-Control Field, I now own an album obscure enough to have not yet been noded. (Yay)

Humanistic is the freshman release of Abandoned Pools, which is actually just Tommy Walter (former Eels bassist) and a bunch of producers at Extasy Records International (this album is the company's first release). The first thing you will notice about it, assuming you come across it in Borders or another fine vendor of music, is its kick-ass cover art: a sketchy sort of half-colored-in line drawing of Walter against sketchy sort of half-colored-in line drawing of some semi-futuristic buildings and people in the distance. Appropriately, it all looks very humanistic.

All the songs on the album were recorded by Walker on an 8-track in his house, transfered to Pro Tools, then polished up in the studio -- like Rockin' The Suburbs, this is mostly a one-man show (though Pete Pagonis gets songwriting co-credit on Never and Start Over).

I don't know precisely how the record is faring commercially, but I've seen it marked down heavily a couple of times, which doesn't bode well. It's a shame, because while I don't listen to nearly enough indy-rock to be able to make a qualitative assessment of Humanistic's merits as compared to other records in the genre, I certainly enjoy listening to it, and the songs are nice and deep, with lots of connotations and overtones and all that good stuff. (They also contain some pretty complex harmonies; seekers of unadultrated consonance steer clear.)

Tracks:

1. The Remedy
2. Mercy Kiss
3. Start Over
4. Monster
5. Blood
6. Suburban Muse
7. Sunny Day
8. L.V.B.D.
9. Ruin Your Life
10. Never
11. Seed
12. Fluorescein

Hu`man*is"tic (?), a.

1.

Of or pertaining to humanity; as, humanistic devotion.

Caird.

2.

Pertaining to polite kiterature.

M. Arnold.

© Webster 1913.