Musical mad scientist Chad VanGaalen is one of Canada's most dependably inventive songwriters, and his latest DIY effort is Shrink Dust. The album will arrive on April 29 through Flemish Eye/Sub Pop, and it's available to stream ahead of time at Exclaim.ca.
As usual, VanGaalen self-produced the record at his Yoko Eno home studio in Calgary. He acquired a pedal steel, giving much of the record a country feel. However, there are also songs that act as the score for his upcoming sci-fi animated film, Translated Log of Inhabitants.
The album begins in characteristically inventive form, as "Cut Off My Hands" is a beautiful — yet lyrically grotesque — acoustic ditty that is overlaid with experimental dissonance. From there, "Where Are You?" is a noise-damaged psych exploration, "Lila" places grand choral harmonies atop a restrained folk arrangement, and "Leaning on Bells" is a jagged riff rocker.
See VanGaalen's upcoming tour schedule here, and listen to all of Shrink Dust below.
Read our questionnaire with Chad VanGaalen from Exclaim!'s May issue here.
UPDATE: This stream was available for one week only and is no longer available.
As usual, VanGaalen self-produced the record at his Yoko Eno home studio in Calgary. He acquired a pedal steel, giving much of the record a country feel. However, there are also songs that act as the score for his upcoming sci-fi animated film, Translated Log of Inhabitants.
The album begins in characteristically inventive form, as "Cut Off My Hands" is a beautiful — yet lyrically grotesque — acoustic ditty that is overlaid with experimental dissonance. From there, "Where Are You?" is a noise-damaged psych exploration, "Lila" places grand choral harmonies atop a restrained folk arrangement, and "Leaning on Bells" is a jagged riff rocker.
See VanGaalen's upcoming tour schedule here, and listen to all of Shrink Dust below.
Read our questionnaire with Chad VanGaalen from Exclaim!'s May issue here.
UPDATE: This stream was available for one week only and is no longer available.