Quantcast

Call for Music Critics and Music Bloggers

Music

David Bernabo

Assembly

(Sort Of; US: 1 Jun 2007; UK: Available as import)

Pittsburgh’s David Bernabo is a jack of many musical trades and if his recent full length project Assembly (which is an incredibly fitting title for a record that succeeds largely on the strength of Bernabo’s ability to fuse like and unlike sounds) gives accurate indication, a master of many. Unlike other artists pursuing an aesthetic that allows for dramatic swings in mood, tempo and texture, Bernabo is willing not only to give listeners a mere taste of his multitude of ideas but fleshes each out to achieve a proper length and effect. At times, with his mix of folk, rock, ambient and freeform jazz influences, Bernabo approximates a sound that suggests Beck or Ben Kweller attempting an experimental folk record; it is probably unfair to compare Bernabo with these artists as the project allows him to display a style all his own. Album highlights include opener “Englishness” which combines a rambling folk feel with ambient and atmospheric tones as well as “Asatru Free Folk Assembly” which exhibits both minimalistic and conventional characteristics. By album’s end, the constant shifting and segmenting can become a bit tiresome and this is certainly not a project for those who like their music to be easily classifiable. Yet, Assembly reveals Bernabo as an exciting talent likely to provide moments of musical bliss in the future.

Rating:

Tagged as: david bernabo
Comments
Now on PopMatters
Love, and Other Indelible Stains (Columns) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Sigur Rós: Valtari (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Lemonade: Diver (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Cory Branan: Mutt (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Big Science: Difficulty (Capsule Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Cut Chemist: Outro (Revisited) EP (Capsule Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Cygnets: Dark Days (Capsule Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Young Hines: Give Me My Change (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Gazpacho: March of the Ghosts (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Loga Ramin Torkian: Mehraab (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Max Payne 3 (Reviews) [Wed, 1:00 am]
Call for Music Critics and Music Bloggers (Announcements) [Tue, 3:00 pm]
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  5. Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles (Sound Affects)
  6. Like 'Doom', In Heels (Moving Pixels)
  7. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  8. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  9. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  10. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  11. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  12. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  13. The 10 Greatest Aspects of the 'Star Wars' Franchise (Short Ends and Leader)
  14. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  15. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  16. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  17. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  18. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  19. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  20. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  21. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  22. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  23. Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook (Features)
  24. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  25. Saint Etienne: Words and Music (Reviews)
  26. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  27. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
  28. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  29. 'People's Pornography': The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture (Reviews)
  30. Feeling '80s Spirit: Post-Hardcore Punk for the Plastic Generation (Columns)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.