Seth Faergolzia
"High Diver"
Blang Records
Seth Faergolzia wrote 100 songs last year, put nine of them together on "High Diver," and English label Blang Records put it out. You got to wonder what the editing process was in order to whittle it down this far — I mean 90 percent didn't make the cut.
Anyone familiar with Faergolzia knows he's a minimalist and a maximalist; an enigma that confounds with perfect sense. The track "Rubbing It In" best exemplifies this as Faergolzia flexes his voice over a beatbox base that descends into utter chaos as it fades into the next track, "Rainy Morning," which plays like a collaboration between Cat Stevens and David Bowie that never happened.
Although politically active, Faergolzia still manages to embrace the simple humor found in things, like dumpster diving on "Garbage Night." The freak folk musician seems to have an open door policy for artists that make up his eclectic 23 Psaegz, which he uses to orchestrate his music in all its fragile muscle and groove. Faergolzia is a bit of a mystery that you don't necessarily want to decipher. Drop the needle in "High Diver" and embrace the odd and the beautiful.