Tube Mind by Shep and Me

"This record was my first experience with Shep and Me, the duo of Matthew Himes and H. Caleb Gamble, and I had little idea of what to expect. When I saw the first song was titled "A Poem by Jim Thompson" and was adapted from South of Heaven, I was already hooked. A high-pitched, idiosyncratic drawl leaps from the grooves with subtle backing from a purring waveform oscillator and guitar jangling halfway between hangdog and jaunty. Of course, the lyrics are great as Thompson's a fantastic writer but Himes and Gamble do a great job bringing life to the words.

After the mournful ballad, a pick-me-up is in store. Fitting the bill nicely is "Downbound" a sprightly instrumental (unless you count infectious whistling as vocals) featuring dual acoustic guitars (one nylon, one steel) and thumping percussion. Speaking of whistling, "Leaves on the Breeze" features a couple of charming whistle solos. "Breeze" is a really well-written song, very classic but not without a certain complexity and oddness to it. That statement is really true of Shep and Me's side as a whole--the duo's music is prototypical yet unmistakable. "Like a Dog" matches the Caethua side with tapes of barking dogs embedded deep in the song's canvas. It's a lonesome song and couched perfectly in the dog's incessant barking and desperate need for attention.

The final track, "Over and Over," introduces a muted rhythm generator and distorted lap steel, shifting the dynamic a little more toward the primal and agitated. The blurry, buzzing lap steel feels really wonderful after a relatively quiet and tastefully unadorned record, both sides included. All in all, "Tube-Mind" is a particularly great and eccentric side of minor chord ballads." - Auxilary Out https://bit.ly/3yD3i3i

Experimental / psychedelic folk music project of Matthew Himes, active 2001-2011.