Alexander Tucker

Experiencing this little gem of a four song EP as a burnt CD on a laptop likely isn’t the prescribed listening situation. Released in April by ATP in a, yes, "custom made” double seven-inch format, it showcases a somewhat pared-down version of "Veins to the Sky,” which would later show up on Tucker’s third full-length release, Portal, as well as a new version of "Phantom Rings” from his debut. A cover of Fursaxa’s "Rodeo in the Sky” draws upon the trademark otherness of his sound, which is both seemingly of ancient origin yet chronologically unbound. His self-described "blues closer” "Florence Blue” is a cochleate whirl of strings over a thumbed pulse that’s equal parts Junior Kimbrough and Arthur Russell. Tucker’s sound maintains a strange familiarity despite its slippery signifiers, perhaps due to a tapping in of something elemental outside of traditions. This could explain how he somehow fits on bills and in groups with Fuck Buttons, Sunn O)))’s Stephen O’Malley and Owen Pallett without seeming out of place.