“CHURCH”
With AG Davis, I’ve learned I know what to expect and I don’t know what to expect. What didn’t surprise me about “Church” are the strained, distorted, growling and, at times, almost animalistic vocals that appear frequently throughout. What’s new here for me is the underlying music; it’s still distorted and weird in many places, but it’s also probably the most accessible I’ve heard from him so far. It’s a great combination. As with prior releases, I sometimes hear influences of other boundary-pushing artists (like Flipper on “cockeye” or maybe Foetus on “daddylike”), but it’s always much more extreme. The more I listen the more I like; “Church” may be his best yet.
“Black Mental”
This seems to be some sort of come-to-Jesus statement from AG Davis, but maybe it’s better described as a challenge-to-Jesus album. Lyrically there is a lot of Christian religious imagery plus lots of observations and provocations challenging dogma (maybe religious and societal). Musically most of the tracks feature surprisingly accessible acoustic guitar, but it is mixed with lots of odd noises (and occasional unexpected moments) and AG’s unique vocal style – kind of like a straining Captain Beefheart possessed by a demon. It’s a good mental challenge, mostly black. [Special kudos for the great painting, also by AG Davis, that is used as the cover art.]
“Baby Eater”
If I can say one thing about AG Davis so far in my limited listening experience, it’s that he does not do peaceful or beautiful. The music on “Baby Eater” is more varied than the noise fest of his last album, but I wouldn’t say that necessarily makes it easy listening. You hear many musical elements including grindcore, spoken word, free jazz, and even conventional popular music, but it’s all twisted up. It kind of feels like an evil spirit digging through my music collection and manipulating the sounds and vocals it finds into something new and unique and challenging and interesting. It’s not conventionally pretty, but it’s pretty ugly (or is that ugly pretty?). And I’d like to say definitively no babies were harmed in the making of this music, but let’s just say I hope that’s the case.
“Poor Man’s UltraUff Spiritual Pornography Recorded With an Android-“ as AG DAVIS BOYPLUSGIRL
Welcome to some uneasy listening with an unwieldy title. AG Davis cranks out six tracks of wild noise here that create quite a cacophony. While I hear elements of The Birthday Party and The Pop Group, this music moves even further out to the fringe. If you like noise there’s lots to enjoy here. On the other hand, one song (“SKY”) almost sounds like a traditional piano-based song trying to escape from the maelstrom. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t make it.
I get the impression that making this music was cathartic for the artist; perhaps listening to it loud will do the same for you.