Being “minimal” is too often a crutch used to create songs that don’t actually go anywhere, tracks that are more space than they are sound and more hyped than they are enjoyable. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Pumpcars and bicycles are minimalist. Early rock and roll was, too. There’s room in the conversation for minimalism that moves.
And it’s a good thing that Lucia Arias and Christian Billard got the memo, or we wouldn’t have a track as compelling “M.C. PH.D.” The track from their project Anna Altman is made up of the three simple parts: Aria’s singing and guitar strumming and Billiard’s relentless click-clack drumming. However, the result is bigger than the sum of its parts, a revolving and propulsive song that sounds like a unhurried train that’s nevertheless building up a head of steam. With a sound so reminiscent of transportation, It’s no wonder that “M.C. PH.D” comes from an album called Freightliner.
That album is due out on April 28 via Exploding In Sound. The cassette-only release is the first in that label’s year-long EIS Tape Club. The label hopes to promote new artists with a cassette from an up-and-coming act every other month. Check out the tracklist for Freightliner below and pre-order it here.
1. “The Interview”
2. “Catcher”
3. “Never”
4. “White Horse”
5. “American Gothic”
6. “Memory”
7. “Season Premiere”
8. “Freightliner”
9. “M.C. PH.D.”
