B. Fleischmann
The Humbucking Coil
Morr Music

B. Fleischmann, the man who released Thomas Morr Music's first record, brings tears to my eyes with The Humbucking Coil opening chord progression. How does he know? That A-men harmony sounds so good in here! As the song opens up, he lets shimmers of awesome-toned guitar cut through the electronics. The first song is called "Broken Monitors", and at the risk of sounding totally pretentious, I'd say it already seals this as a great album. There is no doubt in my mind upon hearing the opener that I will love this record. This and the new Jel record have already brought many a smile, as they were soundtrack to birthday boy DJ Piss' afterparty.

Opener "Broken Monitors" is a little long, at 7 minutes, but who cares? Just make sure you have a little time to devote to it if you want to listen to The Humbucking Coil. Like all good albums, it can be a little demanding. But that demand rewards with some pretty amazing stories that Mr. Fleischmann has to tell.

"Gain" is a slow and sad song, and we hear Christof Kurzmann's fascinatingly downtroden voice. "Oh he knows something!" This is what I think hearing it for the first time. "I should listen to him", I think. Somehow I knew I should. He sings: "Let's face another day. Let's see another fence. Let's have another crash. Let's get another chance." "Let's give it one more try. Don't want to make you cry. How else could we survive? Unless we try our lives."

Fleishmann's drum machine is awesome. Somehow its somewhat-starkness grounds this sound. The same can be said for his long, sustained major-key-yet-sad basslines. These are issues involved with style that Morr Music has always impressed me with: their signiture to me is this grounded sort of musical cleanliness that is used to backdrop strickingly sad melodies. That's not to say the people at Morr Music are negative nancies, I mean if you look at their website it's almost like they are little kids, but rather to say that this sort of acceptance and expression of sadness is actually an extremely positive and helping message.

Now I don't know if that last paragraph made a lot of sense, but damn if this B. Flsichmann ain't the shit. Light up a smoke, sit back, soak it all in. Get you a Morr Music T-shirt and parade around listening to this on an 80s boombox. That would be the thing to do with this album.

Fittingly, "First Times" uses a toy-keyboard. A clean and simple guitar arpeggio pits itself against drum-machine. Meditative type music. Very serene. When the bassline and harmony enter and the song opens up, that is what gets me so much. Oh that almost spiritual chord change of IV-I! It comes back here. And it makes this song soooo good. Best one on the tape so far. It's one of those you'll listen to again after you hear it the first time, I almost guarantee. And a nicely named tune. Very psychologically clever.

Upon an immediate second listening "First Times" is a song that I feel absolutely grateful to hear. What a fucking tune! I love this song. Most of all it makes me think I want live music like this out here. We NEED it! I just know it could make the people around here feel better. Pump-organs and toy-keyboards might just save this town.

There is a lose sort of story told with the names of these songs, one that is meant I believe to be interpreted by the listener. For some reason I hear the adventure of a young musician, rambling his way here and there, figuring things out (or trying). Dealing with fame, selling records...

I also think it's neat that there was a Dr. Fleischmann on Northern Exposure. In a funny way, this record sometimes makes me think of that character.

Anyway, if you have never heard Berhard Fleischmann you should.

Copyright © 2006 Mateo Orillas