Steven Zultanski – Ghost Hole / 2003 Breaking World Records / 10 Tracks / http://www.breakingworldrecords.com / Reviewed 17 October 2003 /

Sounding almost like the background music for a horror music, “Ghost Hole” delivers pretty much what one would think it might, with backwards masked screams and stolen clips from other songs piercing the very tranquil strumming of the guitar and the mellow brand of singing. “The Nipple of Knowledge” continues the strummy guitar-work, but Steven’s vocals are much more up-beat, harkening back to Pavement and Sebadoh in eir’s youthful exuberance. The chorus of “How much do you know about your baby’s breasts” really adds that certain absurdist slant that was explicitly missing from the disc up to that point. Continuing that absurdist slant, Steven flawlessly mixes Monster Magnet (“Powertrip”) with They Might Be Giants (“Fang”) with a set of pipes that sound eerily similar to Jim Morrison’s. The smacking of drumsticks together (and no, that is not drumming) doesn’t do much in timekeeping for the track, as Steven struggles to keep the timing together, but does add a nice ambience to the track.

Mumbling into a thick coat (or possibly sheets), Steven’s next track on the disc, “Waking Up is Hard to Do” has lyrics that are literally not able to be dissected into anything resembling English. The influence of the 70s on Steven is something that is not to be ignored, and the carefree tone of this disc really provides a contrast to what is currently being put out on modern pop radio. To be more specific, Steven expands the horizon of Breaking World Records in the sense that ey does provide a certain sense of melody and holding to a form that only Johnny Franchise and the Merchandise have been able to do at this point. Ending off with the haunting track “We Are the Only One Alive”, a track that continually repeats the title phrase, Steven makes a very interesting (and grammatically incorrect) phrase seem upbeat.

An one-individual band most of the time, Steven really is one who coalesces every single note of music into a musical juggernaut. While ey’s songs may seem incredibly simple, each section is chosen to represent Steven at that specific position on the disc. Ghost Hole is a revival disc that I can actually stand, taking the music from the not-so-distant past and not using it to sell the latest brand of retro clothing. And, unlike a lot of those rock-revival bands, Steven isn’t always serious.

Rating : 7.9/10

Top Tracks : The Nipple of Knowledge, Waking Up Is Hard to Do