Walmartians - bounce.shake (2008)

The sophomore effort by Walmartians lacks the cohesiveness of bebobebobe, but there are still some good tracks here and there.

Arrival kicks things off with a bit of an homage to Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control. It features the sole use of Korg’s Kaossilator for the synth parts. Still kicking myself for selling that thing.

A friend once remarked that I Think I Might Like To… reminded him of Yo La Tengo. Not sure I hear that, but it is a nice comparison. The title is from something Ian used to say quite a bit.

Walmartians (Kontakt Secundus) is the second (duh) installment in the ongoing Walmartians Kontakt series. Some sound clips from the Speak & Learn make their first appearance on this one.

To me it sounds like a mix of the Old West and the plains of the Ukraine, but your impression of Git Along Li’l Comrades may differ. Lots of reverb on this one.

For some reason That’s Just Dandy initially reminded me of The Dandy Warhols. Hence the title. Sort of a weak effort.

Somewhere out in rural Central Texas, along the way to Colorado Bend State Park there’s a billboard that reads “Mammoth Jackstock.” And that was the inspiration for the song of the same name. A bit of a country feel on this one.

I was thinking a lot about Public Image Ltd.’s first couple of albums when I recorded The Long March. In the end it really doesn’t sound like PIL at all, but is just about tiresome as something like Fodderstompf.

Monday’s End was, appropriately enough, recorded at the end of a very long Monday. Nice little pop song here with some Omnichord goodness thrown into the mix.

There’s a late night spy feel to Serpentinen Tanz. The clattering drums, pseudo-funk bass, melodica and some noises made by thumping an amplifier all seem to work well on this one.

Probably goes without saying that I’m not a fan of either most progressive rock or Yes. Tails of Pornographic Notions (The Rape of Jon Anderson) is the aural equivalent of punching all those noodling wankers in the crotch.

Tunguska (Version 1) is one of the oldest Walmartians songs. It was recorded prior to everything on bebobebobe, but didn’t seem to fit with that collection. In an effort to pad out bounce.shake I dropped it in here. Some day there’ll be a version 2.

Originally released October 2008. Cover image of Tokyo. Album title by Ian.