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Chet delcampo "apartment songs" LP

by Chet Delcampo /aka/ Hong Kong Stingray

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1.
what a star should be 03:21
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2.
anna marie 03:15
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3.
in it together 02:48
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4.
so little time 02:13
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5.
can't complain 02:42
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6.
sunday at noon 01:26
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7.
steady rain 02:43
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8.
day in the fall 02:57
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9.
Cole Porter phrase 03:06
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10.
a candle is a furnace 02:54
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11.
pretty voice 02:52
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12.
so much 02:11
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about

All sounds -Delcampo
...except for special guests:

Mike (slo mo) Brenner - lap steel trk 1
Kimbal Brown - Trumpet trk 2, 3 & 7
Terry Bortman - Bass trk 8
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APARTMENT SONGS - PRESS RELEASE :
Over the years, a popular hallucination of the home recordist has developed: More often than not, when you hear of this artist or another going it alone within the confines of his very own limitless hard drive, the image is conjured of a hapless, tweaked Richard Dreyfuss standing in his living room, towering over a wild mountain range made of nothing more than ashed potatoes and insane desperation.

Well, that's just the first instance where Chet DelCampo breaks the mold. And he just keeps going. In a world where heart-on-their-sleeve singer/songwriters are the norm, Delcampo balances it out with a wit to match; where more traditionally rootsy candidates earn their chips through sweat and grind, Delcampo Comes Off As Knowing And Debonair. Where others rock, Chet does one better: He holds you close. And his latest continues proving that he's basically the James Mason of indie-rock: cool, confident and not to be crossed.

For the Philadelphia singer/songwriter's second proper full-length, DelCampo (born in another time, another place as the humble, sweet Chris Madl) has turned his fancies to indoor sports; the result, which suavely convinces the organic and the electronic to finally lie down together, is Apartment Songs. It's in line with the man's developing neo-Bacharach aessthetic, begun (against all odds) in 1980s Los Angeles, continued in mid-90s Seattle and then London, and then, finally, settling in Philadelphia, where DelCampo's could emanate from the very same grey air as his beloved Gamble and Huff favorites.

Coming live and direct from a perch atop historic Old City, Philadelphia, the record is every bit as sophisticated and sleek as Chet's last, the widely acclaimed The Fountain (Record Cellar). What's different, however, is that the man has taken personal and this time, made it epic: Apartment Songs Has An Cinematic Sweep And Panache that calls to mind such recent instant classics as Yo La Tengo's And Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out, East River Pipe's The Gasoline Age and Mark Eitzel's 60 Watt Silver Lining. "Anna Marie" sounds dirty and sleek at once. "Sunday At Noon" slices the whole thing in half in all its instrumental glory. "A Candle Is A Furnace" burns slow and sinister.

All told, with 12 songs clocking in at just over a half-hour, Apartment Songs Is The Most Perfectly Manicured Ode To Grace Under Heartache That You'll Hear This Year - it's dignified and cool, but goddamn it wishes you didn¹t have to go baby. Listen to what you're missing.

JOEY SWEENEY

credits

released June 1, 2003

TAPE OP REVIEW :
With a title like this, one might guess it was recorded in a apartment. Yes it was! Self-recorded this CD sometimes has a hushed quality like Elliot Smith or East River Pipe, but some tunes, like ³Can¹t Complain², come across with more of a Scott Walker bombast. Canned percussion is treated and used well - better than most people¹s attempts. The vocals have a really cool soft quality, and as I saw an AEA R-84 ribbon mic on his website I think I know why! Other gear used includes a Mac Duel 867, UAD powered plug-ins, Kontakt sampler, Universal Audio 2-610 tube mic pre, Otari MX 5050 1/4 inch 2-track, Soundelux U195 and a RNC compressor. A really well - crafted CD, with many twists and turns you wouldn¹t expect and cool songs.
LARRY CRANE

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