Done Dog Brown
The most bizarre music I have ever heard? Possibly - then again,
there is always Witchy-Poo. But, Shave Librarian is close. At
first, I considered this one of the worst tapes I had ever heard....but
I slowly changed my mind. It is just bizarre - and pretty good,
too. Shave Librarian's Done Dog Brown is an 8 song adventure
into the back of your skull via a city bus filled with schitzos,
Vietnam vets, transvestites and several people suffering from
turret's syndrome. Now, I may not be able to spell turret's
syndrome properly, but I can appreciate the wacky ecclecticism
of a band's synthesizer heavy music and mind twisting lyrics.
The music is layered in a complex fashion as the vocals fade
into altered abstractions. Lyrics that, well, just plain old
confuse the left side of my brain but strike emotional harmony
with the right side. Red Skull has confronted us with a band
that reminds heavily of early 80's synth pop while yearning
to create hallucinogenic lyrics. Not for the weak of heart,
maybe for the weak of mind.
RATING: 1 Chewie (PERFECTION RATING)
-BUZZCUTS (Online Review) 1996
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This is going to kill me, I know it. Usually I'm so negative
in my opinions about music in general, but this tape just won't
let me do that, so I won't.
Having scrutinized Shave Librarian's first tape (Ariel), reviewing
this one is kind of like deja'vu for me. Even though this band
has an odd name (Shave is a slang term for surreal perfection),
the music,words, and ideas complement the odd aspect of the
name. The music is a great effort, further exploring the unusual
wordplay of lead vocalist/keyboard player Brian Riley. But it
isn't limited to just that. Every member is heard, and heard
very well in this ultra clear recording. The music is complex
and it doesn't just lend itself to the words, as audio wallpaper
usually does. This is often rare, that is why I am blown away
when it DOES happen.
The recording retains a 'questionable concept' feel, which
could be Shave Librarian's trademark. Though the songs are very
diverse sounding, there is a subtle thread that binds all of
them together. Consider this lovely and bizarre line from the
song, 'Buses and Airplanes' : 'Circus Oven Love you've got your
healing on...' Perfect. Every song has this sort of imagery
happening, and they're great as a whole but I'd pick 'Sky Wing',
'Where You Buy Your Days', and 'Buses and Airplanes' as my favorites."
-SCREED MUSIC ZINE (Cincinnati, OH) Issue #3
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