Kal Madsen and the lo-fi beat poet spitting bullets of "Corset"

 

"tug on her corset until her ribs collapse"

Los Angeles based Kal Madsen creates songs that sound like dime store pulp fiction novels from another time even though I suspect all his stories are based on factual events. His lo-fi aesthetic, talky singing, wanderlusty busker / beat poet aesthetic feels so incredibly 60's and therein lies the allure. This aesthetic feels like a writer of those aforementioned dime store novels deciding to be a singer and musician. 

His track "Corset" from his newly released 7 track Album "The Auto Bons" contain 4 songs from his 2018 release "Kal Madsen & The Auto Bons Home Recordings" as well as "Life Railed" and two live tracks. "Corset" is lush in it's lo-fi-ness and from the onset, with it's running organ sound, staggered beat, walking bass and dark lyrics, you cannot help but think of a crashing together of Lou Reed and, to some degree, Kevin Morby or maybe, more specifically, The Babies, Morby's wonderful band / project with Cassie Ramone. Madsen, though, feels more caustic here turning out lines like 

"tug on her corset until her ribs collapse / choke all her desires until her relapse / chase away her demons like they aren't built in / you could try these things, but you cant win" 

And before you think it is all casting aspersions, all pernicious pestilence, this relationship catharsis has an emotional framework that is built out of fractured sticks. Madsen shares:

"This is a song a few years back while I was in an abusive relationship. At the time, I had to hide the meaning of the song because I was still dating the girl, but after she stopped caring about me catching her cheating, I stopped caring about concealing the meaning of this song. Since then, It has been my band's favorite song of mine to play, because its simple and easy to have a lot of fun with."

Truth be told, I like the dark edges here and the tones that can sometimes sound messy just like life. Madsen is not afraid to exorcise demons and even to line his words with hate, to not necessarily turn the other cheek artistically. He imbues his lines with a J.D. Salinger-esque truthfulness even if it feels, at times, uncomfortable and I like that hard edge. It is not unusual for songwriters to do, after all, just ask any of Taylor Swift's former lovers.   

-Robb Donker Curtius

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