The Answer Is In The Beat

Rasmus Birk: Cult of Rasmus (Black Cottage, 2023)

March 25, 2023 at 1:44 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Affiliated with Applesauce Tears and Black Cottage Records, Rasmus Birk is an Atlanta-based cut-and-paste electronic group, and apparently some sort of cult. They seem to prefer pinching samples from old films, maybe even educational ones, so their music has this out-of-time quality. “This Is Your Focus Leader” is a celebratory opener filled with gleeful horns and guitar riffs. “Sop the Droplet” unexpectedly begins with gospel pianos, then eventually adds slap bass and distorted, smeared beats. “Sunshine Casual” is a gorgeous chillout track, with bird chirps and sighing vocals complementing the dreamy beats. “Wolfie” does in fact featuring a wolf howling, starting out with a fun, freewheeling first half and then spacing out for the second. “Babette Becomes a Burden” has an ear-catching sample (“I said, I’m not hard to look at!”) and swells of dubby horns. “Down and Baroque” has a curious combination of black-and-white old movie samples and slow, squishy beats. “Head and Breakfast” seems to try its hardest to play around with your head, chopping up a sample about playing a while after supper and before bed over queasy synths. “Creeping Jenny” is a long, multi-part journey involving a mysterious long distance call, and it has a heart-warming ending. “Her Name Was Funky Bundle” is based around a minor conflict between a couple; the repeated “I’m no freak!” sample near the end is what gets me. “Confetti and Meet Halls” starts out uncertain, then loses itself at the disco. Finally, “The Feedback Rhythm” moves sideways with erratic riffs and nervous synth sequences.