FEATURED CD - Mike Keneally : Scambot 1 & 2

[Orcopian]

Ordered and downloading now, won't get a chance to listen till tomorrow night but looking forward to it already.

[aith01]

Made it through one complete listen today, at work and while driving. Hopefully will get to listen more this evening.

One of the things I love most about Mr. Keneally's music is that I truly don't know what to expect when first hearing it. It feels like a song could potentially go anywhere. That's a refreshing kind of experience, and reminds me of why I got into prog/jazz/experimental stuff in the first place.

If the main disc is the more "accessible" work, I can only imagine what Inkling might sound like.

[zorknapp]

Preordered, and downloading files as I type...

[Sean]

Wow! This is off to a good start!

[aith01]

Wow! This is off to a good start!

I know, right?

In The Trees is a killer way to begin this disc. It only gets better from there!

[Troopers For Sound]

Yep, it's freakin' brilliant On listen number 3 now. So many cool little things I look forward to each time. Roughly I'd say it's more in the Hat/Dust Speck world than anything else. Maybe a touch of DOG too. Relative to Scambot 1 I actually found this instantly accessible whilst still acknowledging there is shit loads going on that I'm not comprehending in full yet.

Matt.

[Reid]

Yep, it's freakin' brilliant On listen number 3 now. So many cool little things I look forward to each time. Roughly I'd say it's more in the Hat/Dust Speck world than anything else. Maybe a touch of DOG too. Relative to Scambot 1 I actually found this instantly accessible whilst still acknowledging there is shit loads going on that I'm not comprehending in full yet.

Matt.

That's a great endorsement! Not that I need one. I'm gonna hold off listening until the CDs get released.

[Sean]

"Roughly I'd say it's more in the Hat/Dust Speck world than anything else. Maybe a touch of DOG too."

I'd go along with that. The really low tuned guitars on the heavier tracks remind me of stuff like "Louie" meets "Scotch". So, yeah!

[zombywoof]

On the second listen, I can tell it's going to become one of my favorites of the year.

[Mister Triscuits]

A very dense listen! I actually find this, at least on first listening, less accessible than Scambot 1, which is not what I expected from Mike's description. This is definitely an album that will require a lot of immersion to peel back the layers.

Will there be a Scambot 3? #1 was originally described as part of a trilogy, but this one ties up the storyline to the point where it's hard to imagine where it could go from here.

[zombywoof]

Will there be a Scambot 3? #1 was originally described as part of a trilogy, but this one ties up the storyline to the point where it's hard to imagine where it could go from here.

"I also have this idea that each successive volume clears away clutter, sonically. So, Scambot 1 is extremely dense, musically—almost dauntingly so. I have a vision of Scambot 2 having quite a bit more air injected into the mix so that the elements stand in more stark relief and are not as dense and overwhelmingly layered. And then Scambot 3 is going to be so airy that it’s almost about ambient kind of symphonics. Each volume is going to have an extreme distinction, as well as a packaging personality. It should be quite a journey by the time it’s done.

My other thought is that Scambot 3 might be the last album I ever do. So, I’m not necessarily in a that much of a hurry to get around to it. I don’t know if it’s true. I don’t want to necessarily make that a distinct part of it. I don’t want to pressure myself into not finishing Scambot 3 because I’m afraid it will be my last album."

http://www.innerviews.org/inner/keneally2.html

[aith01]

[I]
"I also have this idea that each successive volume clears away clutter, sonically. So, Scambot 1 is extremely dense, musically—almost dauntingly so. I have a vision of Scambot 2 having quite a bit more air injected into the mix so that the elements stand in more stark relief and are not as dense and overwhelmingly layered. And then Scambot 3 is going to be so airy that it’s almost about ambient kind of symphonics. Each volume is going to have an extreme distinction, as well as a packaging personality. It should be quite a journey by the time it’s done.

This is a really cool idea.

My other thought is that Scambot 3 might be the last album I ever do. So, I’m not necessarily in a that much of a hurry to get around to it. I don’t know if it’s true. I don’t want to necessarily make that a distinct part of it. I don’t want to pressure myself into not finishing Scambot 3 because I’m afraid it will be my last album."

http://www.innerviews.org/inner/keneally2.html

Noooooooo...! I don't like the thought of that.

[Reid]

This is definitely an album that will require a lot of immersion to peel back the layers.

Good! Those are my favorite kinds of records. I don't want to feel like I've absorbed all of the detail after a few spins.

[philsunset]

Ordered!!

[mkeneally]

I am not at all dead set on the idea of Scambot 3 being my last album, by any means, so don't get too freaked out by that alth01. In fact forget I said it :-)

Mr. Triscuits, fascinated to hear that you found the new album to be less accessible than Scambot 1 - to me the new one is way more clear, and more melodic in a readily graspable way, than Scambot 1 was, but it just goes to show that the artist never really has a clear view of the stuff they create.

Thank you everyone for liking the album!

[aith01]

Good! Those are my favorite kinds of records. I don't want to feel like I've absorbed all of the detail after a few spins.

Same here. This is definitely one that will require several spins to unravel all of the musical details therein.

I am not at all dead set on the idea of Scambot 3 being my last album, by any means, so don't get too freaked out by that alth01. In fact forget I said it :-)

That's a relief. (Perhaps I overreacted earlier... Naaaah. )

Mr. Triscuits, fascinated to hear that you found the new album to be less accessible than Scambot 1 - to me the new one is way more clear, and more melodic in a readily graspable way, than Scambot 1 was, but it just goes to show that the artist never really has a clear view of the stuff they create.

Thank you everyone for liking the album!

This was also interesting to me, as Scambot 2 so far feels a lot more immediate or accessible than Scambot 1. There's still tons of stuff going on with the new one, but it's a little less... daunting, perhaps. I like the fact that each album has its own identity. It's cool!

Still need to sit down with the booklets and read through the lyrics and story while listening to the music.

[Mister Triscuits]

Mr. Triscuits, fascinated to hear that you found the new album to be less accessible than Scambot 1 - to me the new one is way more clear, and more melodic in a readily graspable way, than Scambot 1 was, but it just goes to show that the artist never really has a clear view of the stuff they create.

Well, I'm weird, so the way I respond to it may not be the way anyone else does...but to me there's a lot of sweetness to Scambot 1: the impossibly gorgeous "Hallmark," the breezy original version of "Cold Hands," the joviality of the Firesign-like "Big Screen Boboli" intro (which the shuffle function on my iPod seems to have a particular fondness for), and so on. Scambot 2 is different, more rocking, heavier, thornier. Darker. Even the gnatty reprise of "Cold Hands" is twisted, distorted, recorded through a fly's eye. I definitely look forward to finding how the album reveals itself with repeated listens.

[Polypet]

I am not at all dead set on the idea of Scambot 3 being my last album, by any means, so don't get too freaked out by that alth01. In fact forget I said it :-)

Mr. Triscuits, fascinated to hear that you found the new album to be less accessible than Scambot 1 - to me the new one is way more clear, and more melodic in a readily graspable way, than Scambot 1 was, but it just goes to show that the artist never really has a clear view of the stuff they create.

Thank you everyone for liking the album!

I think the sequencing gives one a sense that it's a more dense listen overall. But actually it's just that the opener is a fairly complex suite with some length and density to it. That piece requires several listens before fully groking it's fabulous form. It sets up everything else so perfectly though. To me, it has a sort of "in medias res" feel to it. Like you've come into a "show already in progress". Then it all just loosens up into a more airy space, with Roots Twist. From that point on the album feels airier (to me) and the sequence cruises along excellently

[Sean]

I too can’t put a lot of what I am hearing into words but love the new album. It definitely has a different vibe and tone than SB#1. It’s still pretty dense, no doubt, but it sort of thins out as it goes. Race The Stars is the most immediately accessible tune and a good one to play for friends you are introducing to this album. It reminds me of Umphrey’s McGee in a way. Not sure having Kris Myers around inspired MK to write in that style, but that’s what it reminds me of. And that guitar solo is TO DIE FOR! Delish! Track 4 really caught my ear too and reminded me of something off Dust Speck chordally. A cool thing! Freezer Burn is really sticking with me too at the moment. The heavier low tuned tunes aren’t really grabbing me as much yet, but they definitely make #2 different from #1 and sort of remind me of Dog-era Mike. More as I digest this one more…

[Reid]

I definitely look forward to finding how the album reveals itself with repeated listens.

I am thoroughly enjoying the process! And different songs are revealing their slendor and magic each time I play the CD. Race The Stars is today's favorite. This would be a hit song in a better world. Infectious groove, funky vocal lines, and a great guitar solo. That clean glassy strat funk sounds so goooooood!!!

[Sean]

Indeed it do!

[aith01]

I sure hope Mr. Keneally comes back to play in the southeast US sometime soon. Back in 2012 (I think) there was a show he played in Nashville, TN, which is only a couple hours away from me -- but I wasn't able to make it. Still kicking myself over that one.

Scambot 2 is still smacking me upside the head.