Aqueduct-I Sold Gold
(Barsuk)
10 out of 10
(Barsuk)
10 out of 10
Picture links to Aqueduct's website
Close your eyes. Now imagine a humorous band in the style of Presidents of The United States Of America. Then imagine that band writing songs so oddly heartfelt they’re liable to drive you to tears. Then give the lead singer an affable wit, a goosebump-inducing howl, and a knack for weaving simple yet incredibly memorable melodies. Finally, have them record in a kitchen, a basement, or any other place suited for low-fi lollygagging. If you actually did this exercise, I sincerely apologize for any brain damage resulting from such outlandish thinking. If you didn’t, instead opting for accusations of blasphemy, then you obviously haven’t discovered Aqueduct.“Aqueduct is David Terry. David Terry is Aqueduct.” Such is the statement made in the liner notes of “I Sold Gold”, the third release/second LP/Barsuk debut LP from the self-professed one-man band (he gets help from his friends) of David Terry. Terry, a scruffy, frumpy everyman from Oklahoma, seems to be the person you least expect to be moody and overly sensitive. But it’s this conflict that makes Terry the magical musician that he is.
“I Sold Gold” opens with the weirdest possible 1-2 punch imaginable, with “The Suggestion Box” first and then “Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights”. In “Suggestion Box”, Terry makes obscure suggestions (“Instead of starting a fire, you should be heating things up”) to no particular person, leaving the idea in the listener that anyone in their immediate vicinity could be doing this poor man wrong. After leaving you with the promise that he’ll never leave you there screaming for his love, the album segues into “Hardcore”, which showcases a series of obscure threats (“Don’t ever ask me where I’m from/In six states that’s considered dumb”) above a bouncy stoner-pop backdrop of woozy keyboard and peppy drums. This is just how David Terry rolls. From the get go, he’s painfully sincere one second and hilariously gruff the next. Welcome to the emotional versatility of Aqueduct.
Mr. Terry also has a knack for creating songs that sound much more epic than their running times. Take the incredible “Heart Design”. Clocking in at only 3:34, it finds the time to include rolling piano, frenetic drum n’ bass beats, carnival-like synths, sincere verses of devotion and confession, and an amalgam of everything at the end topped of with a bit of harp. Also note “Growing Up With GNR”. Although only 3:29, it features pumping drums, in-your-face verses about adulterous ladies, an infectious chorus reminiscing about listening to Guns N’ Roses as a child, and an overall big arena-rock sound oddly achieved through low-fi techniques. A whole lot packed into very little. Welcome to the ingenuity of Aqueduct.
While the aforementioned tracks all pack in several elements of techno, Terry finds the time to keep it instrumentally-oriented. On the superb “Frantic (Roman Polanski Version)”, he rolls effortlessly through a timeless rock anthem with a snazzy-sounding plugged-in acoustic in tote on which he strums as if he’s attempting to rid the strings of soap scum. Also, on the Pinkerton-era-Weezeresque track “Laundry Baskets”, Terry spouts one-liners like “To anyone who likes this song, there’s probably 10 who hate it” while riffing out on the electric. So then I suppose Terry’s more than just a piano man. Welcome to the eclecticism of Aqueduct.
In essence, this album can be listened to any way and perceived any way depending on your mood. From beginning to end, and even into the slightly gawdy instrumental “Gameover: Thanks for Playing”, there’s an air of perfection around it. Whether or not Aqueduct moves forward in the future, I will always remember “I Sold Gold” as the album that set a standard for indie pop. If, as stated in “The Tulsa Trap”, “It takes a man, a modern man, to make the audio that you demand”, then David Terry is undoubtedly a man of the 21st century. Welcome to Aqueduct. Why not stay awhile?
Key Tracks: "Heart Design", "Frantic (Roman Polanski Version)", "Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights", "Growing Up With GNR", "The Suggestion Box", "Laundry Baskets"
