Andrew Anderson - Music Album Idea

This is my second day in a row reviewing an album that was inspired by and recorded during COVID-19 quarantine. I can guarantee you there will be more of these reviews to come. When musicians are placed in a position of having to stay at home, what do you think they're going to do? They're going to make music, of course! Sometimes that means writing songs. Sometimes that means performing on live video (and for all of you people who are griping about the current omnipresence of these videos, nobody's forcing you to watch them....so quit your bitching!). Sometimes it means making an entire record and releasing it online. That's what Andrew Anderson (Proto Idiot, Hipshakes, Freak Genes) has done. Music Album Idea is his second solo album in less than five months. He set out to record and release one song every day while under quarantine in Bulgaria. After 11 days, he had himself an album!

I've been an admirer of Andrew's talents for quite a long time, and a project like this really gives me a deeper understanding of who he is as an artist. You might already think of him as an unconventional and rather unique songwriter. But Music Album Idea is far more experimental and idiosyncratic than anything Andrew has done before. I appreciate the spontaneity of coming up with a new song every day and putting it out there permanently. This is so different from the way recording an album usually works: where you write dozens of songs, throw out most of them, and agonize for weeks or even months on every minute detail of the tracks you finally chose to record. I would not necessarily want to listen to every band's "instant album", but I was certainly drawn to this one because I'm a big fan of Andrew Anderson. And Music Album Idea is not your typical COVID-19 concept record. It's more like a journey into the mind of one person living in isolation. Sure, "Living In The Egg" is about how quarantine is like being trapped in...an egg! And Andrew's descent into madness on "Crooked Mile" might be a musical reflection of how a lot of people are feeling right now. But there are lots of little slices of everyday life events as well: noticing the cat outside that comes to stare in the window, learning a new language, watching a documentary on a disappearing village in Bulgaria, and being awed by a mountaintop monument. I love the story behind "Transparent Shelter" - which was made with a Vermona synthesizer that Andrew purchased from a man in Asenovgrad. The man had bought the synth for his son in hopes that he might someday be a musician. Well the kid grew up to be a doctor, and the synth didn't come out of the box until Andrew purchased it. "Transparent Shelter" finds him experimenting with his new toy and recording the results.

Because Music Album Idea is so driven by synthesizers and all the creative possibilities they enable, Andrew Anderson comes off here as not just a songwriter but also a composer. At times, you'll hear echoes of his other bands ("Ten Ten" and "Gotta Move" could probably be Proto Idiot or Freak Genes songs). But for the most part, Andrew goes wherever his mind takes him without any regard for where these songs may fit. I especially like the playful instrumental "Intro" (which Andrew describes as "Steve Reich meets Steve Wright"). I find "Julian" to be an exceptional song - and not just because I love cats. The funky "Gotta Move" ought to be an anthem for these times. And "Monument" has a chilling beauty to it that is probably unprecedented in Andrew's catalog. If you're a fan of Andrew Anderson as I am, I highly recommend Music Album Idea. And be sure to click on the individual song links in Bandcamp. Most of them include pictures that help tell the story of the song!



-L.R.

https://rigmarolerecords.bandcamp.com/album/andrew-anderson-music-album-idea