We introduced Alexei Shishkin‘s forthcoming album Good Times earlier in the month, describing how the prolific, ever-inventive artist is refusing to rest on his laurels. After no less than three releases in 2024, not to mention directing a documentary at Treefort Music Fest, the average artist might take a step back to recharge, but Shishkin seems energised by his efforts, diving headlong into what might be his most ambitious release to date. Together with Bradford Krieger (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synth, drums, bass), Dave Kahn (bass), Ivan Rodriguez (sax), Shishkin recorded the album in four days at Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Throwing everything into the melting pot and improvising with freedom, the result swirls together indie rock, slacker, jazz, and Americana sensibilities into something unique.
And it’s not just the sound that is eclectic. After the video game-inspired lead single ‘Disco Elysium’, a track which incorporated sounds from the game itself, the second pivots into another area entirely. Sport-literate listeners will understand the inspiration behind ‘Tiki Taka (2006)’, though whether they could preconceive just what a song based around Barca’s golden age might sound like is another thing altogether. Not that it should be surprising, considering Shishkin himself didn’t initially know the track would be exploring the tactical innovation of Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola. “For this one (and most of the tunes on this album, to be honest), Brad and I wrote all the music first and then filled in the gaps with mostly improvised lyrics,” he explains:
I went into the vocal booth, and Brad put on some random soccer highlights for me to watch while singing. It just so happened that he pulled up some supercut of Barca moments, so I just started making up soccer things: the “landslide in Sevilla” was about some match where Barca were beating Sevilla team by a lot of goals; getting “broken down” is about Barca passing the ball around until they find a gap in the defense that they can exploit; and the “move it around” refrain is also about the act of passing the ball around the field and maintaining possession. Ironically, it pains me because I normally cheer against Barcelona, but I would be a fool to deny their greatness.
Photo by Kevin Doran