american poetry club, the recording project of Jordan Weinstock (of It Takes Time Records), has been pouring itself tentatively onto Bandcamp over the past few months. With glad to be here, etc released in April and telling you how i feel from the safety of my home in May, the steady drip has formed an inviting puddle, the beginnings of a deep bedroom pop pool we’ll be diving into in no time at all.
glad to be here, etc opens with the CFTPA-esque ‘okaycool 2’, sweetly twee toy-box pop with almost-spoken word monotone, before the richer, emo-tinged sound of ‘how i felt about most things’ with its rapid-fire tumble of lyrics, like long-buttoned thoughts finally breaking through the dam of pride or wariness. While the general vibe of ‘underneath the pillows’ has a more bouncy lilt, the lyrics are darker yet, dealing with the impossible double bind of ‘helping’ a loved one who cannot be helped. ‘how it feels to kiss trees’ is more on the wistful side of things, endearingly naive in its earnest lyrics, though follow up ‘okaycool 1’ acts as a self-aware rebuttal against such accusations before they were ever made.
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telling you how i feel from the safety of my home follows up on this insecurity, the infomercial disco of ‘voice mail’ followed by the dreamy self-deprecation of ‘bedroom pop’, Weinstock declaring his desire to be a variety of b-pop big-hitters from Alex G to Spencer Radcliffe (presumably, anyway). With references to the jort-related freedom and peeking thighs, closer ‘overall(s)’ feels like a return to defensive irony, Weinstock still figuring out his position in the twee-to-cynical continuum of bedroom pop. That said, who suggested you ever have to pick a side?
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Both EPs and a bonus single can be found on the american poetry club Bandcamp page.