Slabco
label head
Steven Nereo
recorded previously under the name
Volume All-Star
, and the primary difference between that project and this solo record is the absence of vocalist
Lady Mallard
. On the mike for
Future Home of Burbank Elks
is
Nereo
himself, and the song-oriented slant of the album, complete with abundant guitar, gives him plenty of opportunity to showcase his voice. Gone are the between-song snippets of old film dialog and answering machine messages (which had pretty much worn out their welcome anyway). Though the tone is similar to records by
mainstays
Sukpatch
, these tunes are unfortunately not in the same league. Unlike contemporary
Money Mark
(who plays keyboards here on two tracks),
's thin voice lacks character, and the melodies seem rote. The backing vocal contributions from
Alex Wagner
and
Jen Abercrombie
on two tracks improve things a little (
"Par Paint"
is the strongest song by far), but the best tracks here are the loose, spacy
trip-hop
instrumentals, thick with analog keyboard textures and accomplished guitar playing. Several such tracks are a cut above
's work, but the record as a whole is an admirable but disappointing departure. ~ Mark Richardson