This is a 'first listen' kinda thing and I don't have it in front of
me, but people have wanted a review so here's the mini-review: If
you're into Detroit techno, it's a buy buy buy. Keywords are lush
and minimal. Occasional beats to shake the flesh to, but the emphasis
is on cruising through the wide-open midwestern sky. The obvious referent
to some extent is 'Autobahn' by Kraftwerk, but where Kraftwerk were
poppy, Carl's progressions are serious, even melancholy.
If I were to imagine a scenario for this record, it's about being black
in America. You can get in your car and cruise -- the road and the
sky are yours. But you get out at the gas station and you know it's still
not your country, not the way it should be. So you cruise, not caring
where you stop.
Compare also to the Burning Spear song "where can I find my resting place?"
-- the bird flies and flies but finds no place to land -- "I think I can
see the broad shady tree" -- the goal recedes in front of you.
That's one white guy's take, anyway. What do I know.
--
"where are all the electrons going?" -- Matt Haines
"eight bytes read at zero bytes per second" -- Netscape status line
[Kent Williams/CADSI/2651 Crosspark Rd/Coralville IA 52241]
kent.williams@cadsi.com