robert robinson: connecticut river

"First solo LP by the guitarist for Sore Eros, playing here with a goddamn valley full of musicians -- from local cats like Sam Gas Can, Murph, and John Moloney, to Eastern Mass chooks like Gary War. All are depicted on the Connecticut River High photo insert, which you may well choose to carry to concert events so that the various and sundry can autograph your copy with words of bonhomie. The music on Connecticut River is extremely wonderful and dizzying in its pure-pop/post-pop ramifications. Robinson seems to have grasped both genres by their most experimental nubs and given them the softest shake imaginable. The album is a swirl of instruments that alternately bear down on hooks and diddle off into river-bound mist. Vocals gang together into chorales of majestic mumblecore or stand like lonesome wolves howling in the hills... Having played this album for nigh on a month now, I am really no closer to unraveling its mysterious core than I was when I first spun it. Some parts chug like unknown glam-rock readymades, others resemble the work of Pip Proud. But this strangely addictive blend of elements has wormed its way deep into my brain, and seems to cast an equal spell on everyone who wanders in during one of my endless listening sessions. High compliments, indeed." --Byron Coley, 2014. ltd edition of 300/includes download