New Fumes - Bump & Assassination (Good Records Recordings)

Certain records possess a mysterious quality: the shock of the new. As a teenager, I remember buying The Flaming Lips’ Telepathic Surgery and Butthole Surfers‘ Locust Abortion Technician on tape, because I thought the band were cool, the cover art was cool, and the album and song titles were cool. Little did I know what was in store for me sonically; after those first listens, a stunned me hit the “play” button again, because my mind was not prepared for the weirdness within. Yet I listened again, and again, and again—finding something new in each listen, hearing the same song again yet not necessarily hearing the same sound each time. Over time, I realized that records such as this are not meant to be taken apart, but are to be experienced whole, from beginning to end.

And so it is that we come to Bump & Assassination, the debut album by New Fumes. A resident of Dallas, Texas, and a veteran of the psych-rock scene, Daniel Huffman—who has most recently performed with The Polyphonic Spree and served as a live guitarist for the aforementioned Flaming Lips, amongst others—has given the listener a very wild, occasionally intense, always fun, and overwhelmingly beautiful experience.

The static of “On a Ship, Under a Bus” that suddenly gives away to loud, insane burst of tribal drum-beats should serve as an indication that you, the listener, are in for a wild, trippy ride—just in case the bright neon green vinyl didn’t drop you enough of a hint! Hufman doesn’t disappoint, as what follows is thirty minutes of wonderfully orchestrated chaos. The musical landscape goes up into noise, with bursts of keyboards, electronic whittles, and other fun things such as dogs barking as the rhythm, lyrics that are indistinguishable,and groovy funk rhythms placed over simple harmonies. “Don’t Be So Paranoid” sounds like a lost Flaming Lips demo, and then there’s the beautiful, gentle, ramshackle epic instrumental sing-along anthem to positivity, “Intrusion,” that closes side one—a shining example that proves the theory Huffman has more up his sleeves. After the first listen, you’ll be convinced that it was recorded one night under the influence of something illicit. But then, when you listen again, you’ll think that it was meticulously crafted by some mad studio wizard who obsessed over it for months on end.

A caveat, though: Don’t try to listen to Bump & Assassination as individual songs—it wouldn’t make sense, as songs quickly fade into each other, and the experience works best when swallowed whole. The delicate nature of this music—and it is delicate—is really not suited for the casual iPod shuffle listener, as songs float in and out of each other in a way that would leave you puzzled if you experienced them out of context. That being said, Bump & Assassination is an impressive, stunning, compelling debut; it is one worth seeking out, and it whets the appetite to hear what will come next.

http://www.goodrecordsrecordings.com