"I see the ashes from the firehouse, the flames that raged before I could put them out..."
Virtuoso busker blues folk noir. I can tell you emphatically that I have never tied those five words together before, ever, but that is what comes to my drunken mind as I listen to "I Ain't Gone" by Sgt. Splendor, the artistically incendiary duo of junkyard folk songwriter, Kate Vargas, and guitar virtuoso, Eric McFadden (George Clinton & P-Funk, Eric Burdon). The song feels stirring with complex guitar fingerings and evocative storytelling. Eric's vocal countenance is so full of character, within his gravel and scuffed silk tones you can feel the weight of his world on his shoulders and when the musical breaks slide in effortlessly, with melodies scurrying down artful rabbit holes, you feel cajoled by Eric's provocative drawl and Kate's supporting, alluring harmonies.
There is a sense here of earnest reveals, you don't feel the pretense of performance but instead two artful people waxing poetic while we eavesdrop in on the conversation. As press notes indicate:
"I Ain't Gone" is a dedication to dear friend and legendary Bay Area poster artist, Ron Donovan. released on Sgt. Splendor's debut album, "Occasions for Self-Congratulations". The music video was filmed while Sgt. Splendor was on tour with the Flynn Creek Circus, an old-timey, family-run, traveling big top circus. Shot by the multi-talented French artist, Tom Proneur, who juggled and performed acrobatics for Flynn Creek and adds a trippy feel to the song adding visual doses of whimsy and wanderlust.
"I Ain't Gone" is a dedication to dear friend and legendary Bay Area poster artist, Ron Donovan. released on Sgt. Splendor's debut album, "Occasions for Self-Congratulations". The music video was filmed while Sgt. Splendor was on tour with the Flynn Creek Circus, an old-timey, family-run, traveling big top circus. Shot by the multi-talented French artist, Tom Proneur, who juggled and performed acrobatics for Flynn Creek and adds a trippy feel to the song adding visual doses of whimsy and wanderlust.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hEnIRqyPrQ0ACvUZZM2Aw
https://www.instagram.com/SgtSplendor/
Indie darling and songwriting wunderkind, Kate Vargas teams up with guitar virtuoso, Eric McFadden, to present their highly anticipated new supergroup, Sgt. Splendor. Featuring Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), Paulo Baldi (CAKE, The Claypool Lennon Delirium), alongside heavy-hitting special guests, their debut album, Occasions for Self-Congratulations is sure to make an impact. The 1st single, "Whoopee Château", invites in Fishbone's Angelo Moore on organ, for a celebratory number with claustrophobic urgency. “We’re in the belly of the beast right now,” Kate Vargas sings on lead track “Whoopee Chateau,” her voice wafting like fumes from the barrel of a smoking gun. Expertly dodging one unsettling revelation after another, her phrasing quickly turns staccato, each word jolting like the bee sting she suggests you “put a penny on” during the chorus. “This record draws heavily from what we experienced during lockdown,” Vargas says. “It’s an abstract expression of that strange time.” “Yeah, you can definitely hear it in Whoopee Chateau,” adds Vargas’ bandmate and partner, Eric McFadden, who mesmerizes on the new single, deftly threading chromatic Latin-jazz guitar breaks through a deep, yet blessedly loose funk strut. “The whole thing has this Jim Morrison sentiment—like, I’m gonna get my kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames.’”
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