Album Review by EDF
Some ideas come as a pleasant accident. This is true for Los Angeles based Lopside’s Dean Hinds who received a second hand pager that did not work properly. One unsuccessful afternoon of trying to access the 37 messages he received resulted with a flow of electronic beeping noises. This is the main basis for the tracks on 37.
Moving away from Lopside’s previous guitar based work, this is a fusion of Brian Eno mixed in an ambient Kraftwerkian world where the machines slowing go about their business. It’s kind of like a kinder, friendlier version of THE MATRIX where machines and humans co-exist.
This is a fine example of great Walkman music due to the trippy, otherworldly setting that the tracks evoke. If you are looking for a commercial electronic record, then this is not for you as the bleeps and sounds at times require the listener to pay extra attention to the ambient structure, space and complexities of each track.
Does every cut on the album tell a story? That is up to the listener to decide. This might be slow and longwinded for some although SATURDAY DRIVING MUSIC is the most accessible track here. For others, this is a relaxing comedown after a hard day at work.
