"back at it again / same old day / the same old friends / tell me how you have been doing..."
I think this weekend I might have to venture to the local thrift store in search of a cassette player or maybe find the ancient Sony Walkman at the old Anaheim house (wheels turning). It might be good to have a mission. The track "pinocchio" by jer, the lowercase abbreviated moniker of Portland, Oregon's Jeremy Murphy, has made me feel wistful. The movement inherent in the pushing bass tones, the shuffling drums, the sprite beautiful guitar work and Jeremy's vocal countenance, like remembrances, like slow goodbyes full of longing has got me thinking of other times, some good, some bad, laughing moments and somber regrets.
"pinocchio" from jer's eponymous solo album (that dropped just this past July) released digitally and on cassette is full of songs mostly recorded by himself with some vocal assistance from his wife Teal Bluestone. As Jeremy's bandcamp reveals:
He's had a hand in many of the great bands of the 2010s in this town including Riled (riled.bandcamp.com/album/thumbgun) and Chain (jigsawrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pzl169-chain-chain) to name a few. The ten songs on jer have been crafted over time, over the years since Jeremy's band days and I love the idea of the author taking such a personal hand in his own work and in such a confessional sort way, some songs in a lo-fi way and some more polished. After recording at his home studio, Jeremy trekked to Philadelphia where "he polished and mixed the songs to their current glory with Nathan Tucker of Cool Original and Strange Ranger fame."
Based on "pinocchio" I plan on delving into jer and I plan on finding a cassette player, a vintage one. It just seems right.
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://budtapes.bandcamp.com/album/jer
https://www.instagram.com/j_ere_m_y/
Jeremy Murphy is one of the nicest guys in Portland DIY. He's had a hand in many of the great bands of the 2010s in this town including Riled (riled.bandcamp.com/album/thumbgun) and Chain (jigsawrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pzl169-chain-chain) to name a few. With this new tape, Murphy steps out on his own as Jer. Holing up over the last few years, he accumulated tracks recording most of the tracks himself with some vocal contributions from his wife Teal Bluestone.
jer, Jeremy Murphy, Portland Oregon, singer songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, personal reflections, new album "jer", single "pinocchio", folk, indie folk, indie rock,
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://budtapes.bandcamp.com/album/jer
https://www.instagram.com/j_ere_m_y/
Jeremy Murphy is one of the nicest guys in Portland DIY. He's had a hand in many of the great bands of the 2010s in this town including Riled (riled.bandcamp.com/album/thumbgun) and Chain (jigsawrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pzl169-chain-chain) to name a few. With this new tape, Murphy steps out on his own as Jer. Holing up over the last few years, he accumulated tracks recording most of the tracks himself with some vocal contributions from his wife Teal Bluestone.
He then traveled to Philadelphia where he polished and mixed the songs to their current glory with Nathan Tucker of Cool Original and Strange Ranger fame. The result is a spectacular example of a songwriter finally buckling down and making a deeply personal statement after years of collaboration. Jeremy first sent me the track Cranberries years and years ago. I was so happy to hear this tape he sent me oscillate between fully fleshed out pristine recordings and the lofi beauty of that initial track I first heard. Its all magnificent and i'm so happy to help share it.
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