Prolific Portland musician Tyler Keene — aka Log Across the Washer — creates lo-fi soundscapes out of waves of distortion, unconventional fretwork, and a twisted sense of pop melodicism. His often surreal and ramshackle narratives slowly unravel to the point where the songs feel on the verge of breaking apart, but Keene manages to keep the instrumentation together despite its compelling outward movement. Keene has crafted the songs on his latest record, Pancakes (out now on Crash Symbols), using the titular breakfast staple as inspiration — each song briefly hovers in the air before spinning tentatively to the ground, using that slight freefall to slowly expand the spaces between the notes.
On the latest track from Pancakes, “Sit Around And Talk A Lot,” Keene mixes gently warbling distortion and oddly affecting guitarwork with subtle synths and his own nasal-spiked delivery — not to mention a dash of bluesy harmonica thrown in for good measure. Definitely the product of an insular creative mind, the track whirrs and rotates as it skips from one musical steeping stone to the next. What makes the song so fascinating is its absolute lack of pretension or adherence to any one set of musical guidelines. It’s obvious that it takes its cue from the oddball indie pop of the Athens, Ga/Denver, Co-based Elephant 6 Collective but there is also a hint of nostalgic 60’s weirdo-pop coursing through its veins. And it’s here at the fringe of numerous genres that the song thrives and grows, with each subsequent listen revealing something new and previously hidden.
Beats Per Minute is pleased to premiere the track, “Sit Around And Talk A Lot,” from Log Across The Washer’s latest record, Pancakes.
