dot_fennel | [music] JOEL RL PHELPS/DOWNER TRIO

Phelps has been sui generis (and almost totally unknown, even in the indie world) for so long that I *think* my mild disappointment, upon first listening, comes only from his various influences, for once, standing out so much that they distracted me.

That's not to say he's become more derivative (or that he used to be original, which he wasn't -- only unique). It's more that he's finally reached the point of uniting the things he's wandered through over the years: the distended, powerful grunge of his Silkworm years; the lapel-grabbing acoustic plaints of his early solo records (how I always imagine Low would sound were they able to lie down without turning around three times beforehand, musically speaking); and the bits of alt-country he picked up along the way. It's a neat process and whether I end up liking this record or not it bodes well for the future. But I just sat there and noticed it happening the whole time I played Customs, except for the harrowing ending of "Shame", which I won't describe here.

Early copies come with an EP of two JRLP songs and three covers, including the Chills' "Pink Frost" performed, for once, with emotional heft. (Other two: Joy Division and Townes Van Zandt. Or wait, was it Van Dyke Parks? Is that a totally stupid question? I don't 100% know which is which.)