"I should have know all my own / by the look in her eyes / her mysterious past I should have guessed / would kill me / someday soon..."
Steeped in a particular kind of Americana folk, the kind that tells stories and deeper stories in between the lines, the kind that feels vast and rustic, the kind that feels like a mere paragraph from a dog eared paged novel, "Her Mysterious Past" by singer-songwriter Michael James Tapscott and from his debut full length, "The Beasts of History", is beautifully crafted, offering poetry maybe coming from dark places.
The sonic atmosphere here depending on you place in life might bring you back to 60's / 70's garden rock. Beautifully produced with moving orchestrations, plaintive piano, pedal steel guitars and a bass line that seems to slow dance with you, Tapscott seems to recounts a deep and maybe tenuous relations ship with people. The sound might cast imagery of homes with large porches and barns in the background. I thought of iconic artists like Van Morrison, like Jackson Browne while listening.
Michael James Tapscott, a San Francisco Bay accomplished musician has recorded and performed as a member of Odawas, China, More Animals of the Arctic, Pacific Walker, and now under his own name is telling his own personal stories. I don't know if the stories on “The Beasts of History” are fictional or autobiographical, either way they will certainly impact many in a real way. The album is released by Royal Oakie Records, after releasing the “Michael, the Worst” EP in December 2022. God, my schedule is completely wacky lately but I hope I find time to check out the album because I certainly love what Taspscott and collaborators are doing on this track.
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://michaeljtapscott.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/mjtapscott/
https://www.michaeljamestapscott.com/
“The Beasts of History” is the new album from Michael James Tapscott, a San Francisco Bay Area based musician, who since 2004 has recorded and performed as a member of Odawas, China, More Animals of the Arctic, Pacific Walker, and now under his own name. “The Beasts of History” is his full length debut for Royal Oakie Records, after releasing the “Michael, the Worst” EP in December 2022.
Nearly four years in the making, the album pulls from disparate strands of American ephemera to create a uniquely captivating collection of songs that pairs Michael’s vivid songwriting with country-rock guitars, ambient synths, field recordings, four-track cassette vignettes, lonesome piano balladry, and fretless bass solos. The eleven songs play out like Sam Shepherd’s one act plays, full of doomed anti-heroes and beautiful losers.
Produced by David Glasebrook, the album features contributions from a wide ranging cast of characters, including members of Odawas, Gospelbeach, Papercuts, Elephant Micah, Tarnation, Yea-Ming and the Rumours, and more. From the opening moments of sound collage “Reno News (Intro)”, to the cinematic noir of “Cheap Hotel”, to the psychedelic swirl of closer “Leopard Print Coat”, the album’s eleven tracks constitute a montage of outsider americana. The call to mind the small town dramas of Bobbie Gentry, the golden age pop of The Beach Boys, the lonely jangle of “Bradley’s Barn”, the echoing melodies of Lee Hazlewood, and the experimental ethos of ambient folk.
Michael James Tapscott has said that what sets him apart is the living document that trails behind him, a catalog of varied personas and rotating collaborators. Never has that been more apparent than on “The Beasts of History”, where Tapscott’s storytelling combines with the unique contributions of his collaborators to become something much more than the sum of its parts.
Michael James Tapscott, singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, folk indie, indie rock, new solo debut album, "The Beasts of History", "Her Mysterious Past" single, stories, 60's and 70's patina,
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://michaeljtapscott.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/mjtapscott/
https://www.michaeljamestapscott.com/
“The Beasts of History” is the new album from Michael James Tapscott, a San Francisco Bay Area based musician, who since 2004 has recorded and performed as a member of Odawas, China, More Animals of the Arctic, Pacific Walker, and now under his own name. “The Beasts of History” is his full length debut for Royal Oakie Records, after releasing the “Michael, the Worst” EP in December 2022.
Nearly four years in the making, the album pulls from disparate strands of American ephemera to create a uniquely captivating collection of songs that pairs Michael’s vivid songwriting with country-rock guitars, ambient synths, field recordings, four-track cassette vignettes, lonesome piano balladry, and fretless bass solos. The eleven songs play out like Sam Shepherd’s one act plays, full of doomed anti-heroes and beautiful losers.
Produced by David Glasebrook, the album features contributions from a wide ranging cast of characters, including members of Odawas, Gospelbeach, Papercuts, Elephant Micah, Tarnation, Yea-Ming and the Rumours, and more. From the opening moments of sound collage “Reno News (Intro)”, to the cinematic noir of “Cheap Hotel”, to the psychedelic swirl of closer “Leopard Print Coat”, the album’s eleven tracks constitute a montage of outsider americana. The call to mind the small town dramas of Bobbie Gentry, the golden age pop of The Beach Boys, the lonely jangle of “Bradley’s Barn”, the echoing melodies of Lee Hazlewood, and the experimental ethos of ambient folk.
Michael James Tapscott has said that what sets him apart is the living document that trails behind him, a catalog of varied personas and rotating collaborators. Never has that been more apparent than on “The Beasts of History”, where Tapscott’s storytelling combines with the unique contributions of his collaborators to become something much more than the sum of its parts.
Michael James Tapscott, singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, folk indie, indie rock, new solo debut album, "The Beasts of History", "Her Mysterious Past" single, stories, 60's and 70's patina,
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