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Shocks and Struts

Reviews
Shocks+Struts is a pure guava kaleidophonic road-trip down the freeway between your ears-- an almost-seemless mix of some of the most inspired and other-worldly headphone music ever created by Here Are The Facts You Requested. The robot-reggae of "Shut Up" coaxes the listener furthur to the jamming classic rock of "Complain" and the Zeppelin-esque rocket-power of "Let's Go, Lonely Planet." Then it's deep into inner-space, with stops for ghost-chasing in the techno bayou of "Tighter For The Year" and the exchanging of "Treats" in the confusing shadows of role-reversal. Finally we're led back to the studio to rock out with a bunch of "Drop Out"s, then it's on to the Sgt. Pepper finale of "Sound Asleep," a song which tries to explain why music is the salvation of the soul. The encore is "1999", a Jeep-rattling post-apocalyptic trip-hop cover of Prince's pre-apocalyptic funk-rock classic; it's Portishead meets Beck. 

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From the press
"The only version of '1999' that should be allowed...is the eerily subdued trip-hop version on Here Are The Facts You Requested's new album "Shocks+Struts."
» Sam Hurwitt, East Bay Express

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"It's an actual guided tour into your own quirky world. The visit holds unyielding interest for the entire 65 minutes. Their rendition of '1999' is superb."
» Grant Miller, Mandible Chatter

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Among others, Negativland, Flaming Lips and Lord Buckley are listed under influences. Curiosity meter should be peaking right about now. As mere CDs go, this platter from the ensemble with the fancy big moniker, which by the way I profess to admire, is a gateway to a mutli-media phenomena that could only berth in the la-la land of San Fran. As the liner notes read: "You jiggies must be plum moldy." Hah! I couldn't've garbled it better meself. About time someone took those damn computin' devices and delivered some notes of distinction. Hacks they may be, but Here Are The Facts You Requested (HATFYR to close associates) know how to get good and groovy. That helps. Especially when ya cram a shitload of data overkill in yer allotted five minute single span. Despite the tech aspect, listening is most pleasurable, and darn right peppy. Imagine Ween with laptops, and I don't mean dances. This is darn right yummy, and includes an askew version of Prince's "1999" that doesn't make me wanna destroy the human species. Follow my lead lads, this is the goods.
» John Sekerka, 2.99

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From our research assistants
.... Listening to you guys opened me up to appreciating bands like the Grateful Dead. <Dodger> ..... "Mom" & "Pop" are great little lo-fi gems. I like hearing the alternate versions of the songs from "Renshenfengwangjiang" before you layered additional tracks onto them. And "Embryo" with a harmonica is great. <Jonas Madden-Connor, outro@go.com> ..... listening to Shocks+Struts and enjoying it greatly. Very weird but very rewarding on multiple replays--you guys pack all kinds of interesting riffs and noodlings into nifty little pop packages. <Hermann42@aol.com> ..... south or aphex twin. weird pop music. i really admire all the propoganda associated with it. <DJ Pistachio>  ..... Man, I think your KALX CD is the closest thing to AOXOMOXOA I've ever heard. That's a compliment. It reminds me of when I was in high school and I first heard that album. It's great to think to. <G-Layer>  ..... I haven't heard the album yet, but I'd like to. I read a discription of HATFYR in a book about how to release an independant record, and I'm very intrigued. <RaumKatze2@aol.com>  ..... It's an actual guided tour into your own quirky world. The visit holds unyielding interest for the entire 65 minutes. I think your rendition of "1999" is superb. <Mandible Chatter>  ..... perhaps you can explain it to me and it has to do with music but i sense that it is pure expression <Mary Alice>  ..... S+S is great! I must say I'm really enjoying a lot of it. It's FANTASTIC what you guys did with home studio-engineered tracks...So I was _very_ inspired by the entire thing, and clearly your pal Ben did a very nice job along with you. I think a lot of the songs are fuckin' great: LET'S GO LONELY PLANET, LUSH, CAN'T STOP THE MIRROR, and the Prince cover, to name some particulars. I really hope people take to the record. As a "pop product" in a HIGHLY over-saturated "market" (gag) it is a real anomaly. So much density, and a really inspired mix. Your use of short connecting tracks works well, and that says a lot, because most people fuck up that sort of thing or it sounds too forced/obvious...Anyway, DAMN good work. You should be proud of all that effort. <Peter Conheim/Wet Gate/Mono Pause>  ..... I have absoluely no clue!!! but the little running pony is very cute.  .....  Hauntingly discursive like a schizophrenic spectre <jason luz>  .....  You collage my ears <your ol' SFAI art teacher>  .....  I've been listening to your cd and it's so awesome. I'm amazed at how much is going on and how it changes style so much but also stays together. No wonder it took so long to finish. I can tell you put shitloads of work into it. My faves are "Let's Go Lonely Planet", "Adagio for Drums", "Sound Asleep" and "Lush". The sound effects on that one are great. How the hell do you go about writing these songs? I imagine they get transformed alot with time. <Vapor Trail>  .....  One big BRAVO on your CD. I have to admit that it was a bit difficult to digest at first, but after leaving it in my CD player while working, I do believe it is starting to increase my productivity. Bravo for being bold enough to record something original. Something that doesn't quite make sense to your ears the first time around. Something that breeds absurdity. It is starting to grow on me and make sense. Can hear some expert recording tricks in there. <sam@cyberbuss.com>  ..... Hi, I was at BM with the High Times guy & bumped into you at Decompression. I just wanted to drop a quick note that I did pick up "Shocks & Struts" that night & thought it was really great. I listened to it twice the next day. The production is _fantastic_. (I'm a sort of a production buff, a remnant of my stoner adolescence...) <stoner adult>  ..... I was listening to the album in the care the other day, and I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy the first half of "sound asleep". It's so tremendously warm, and full of love and joy. It just makes me happy every time I hear it. Thanks. <darceydre@yahoo.com>  ..... You are the essence of Burning Man. If Burning Man had a cologne, it would smell like your music. <ampinc@jps.net>  ..... If I took CD's out of my collection by 808 State, Prince, Bowie, Style Council, The Smiths, Radiohead, The Verve and Swing Out Sister and molded them into one, the result may be close...... A great listen!! I can't wait for the Leftfield remix version :) <bill@niles.com>  ..... The CD package is, really, as the French might say: super-cool. The nifty tire disc, the jewelbox axle, and the colors, oy, the colors: perfecto: I like just looking at it. Yum...Each song, a seance of sorts. But what I fear, of course, is that it is excessively brilliant, that it will hurt too much (in my brain, my toushi, my knees) <djcoff@uclink.berkeley.edu>  ..... The original music to trip by. <dodger@dodger.net>  ..... 

 

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