Appendix Out - Travels In Constants Vol. 13 (2001)
Appendix Out (or Appendix: Out) was a one-time moniker and band lead by the scottish folk singer-songwriter, Alasdair Roberts. Some may know him by his solo career or that he is the other guy from Amalgamated Sons of Rest along with indie folk superstars, Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia, etc.) and Will Oldham (Palace Music/Brothers/Songs, Bonnie Billy, etc.) or maybe you know Appendix Out, that's cool too. Well anyways, Appendix Out lasted from about 1994 to 2001 and in that time of releasing a few EPs and full-lengthers, the band also released a limited edition CD called 'Travels in Constants Vol. 13' (right around the end of their tenure as a band) which is the name of the now defunct recording collection series by Temporary Residence records that was essentially a big studio release version of Peel Sessions or like the In the Fishtank series. In other words, it was just a cool little thing that Temporary Residence would do by inviting artists from and outside of their label to come and record some stuff. But enough about that, it's what is inside that matters here.
What is inside exactly, is perfect music for this season and/or the month of May in general. With Robert's scottish accent and laid-back folk landscape that is either accompanied by little sound collages or interrupted by spoken word and even the time and temp lady, there is so much to take from this album. I'm not even joking about the time and temp thing either; I swear the female voice in the song, "Daylight Saving, Gibson Room (Part Two)" says, "today is Tuesday... May...". Wait a minute... today is tuesday... and it's May... and this album's about the first day of May... and it's the first day of May...! It's crazy to believe, I know, but it's true. Honestly though, I have been trying to figure out this album out and its story it tells for some time now, especially the song, "Speech" about May 1st festivities that are either called 'melting day' or 'belting day'. I'm really not sure which one it is and if it is a real thing, but I find the speech itself very interesting, maybe even more so due to another scottish band, There Will Be Fireworks who have a very simular sample/speech in the hit song, "Columbian Fireworks". The speaker sounds exactly the same in both band's songs and even mentions festivities and kids getting excited. Yep, I'm going to leave it that way...
What I'm really trying to say here, is this: this album is perfect for May Day and this time of the season (or 'that time of the season' as I like to call it), it's full of fun little noises and samples, and has a nice spring time folk flare to it. I haven't even really listened to a lot of Appendix Out's stuff other than this and I'm not sure how I even came across it... All I know is that I have it and listen to it every May Day.
All jokes aside, check out the Travels In Constants releases. bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mono, Mogwai, Low, Jason Molina as Songs: Ohia, Papa M, and even Rumah Sakit have really sweet Travels In Constants releases.
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