Chicago based The Syllable Section may be billed as a duo but is to all intents and purposes a one-man band in the shape of Matthew Marquardt.
He plays everything from mandolin to "blown bottles" to a nylon string guitar "plucked and/or fuzzed out where necessary" while his partner, Bryan Green, is credited only for his drum kit.
As if this wasn't enough, Marquardt writes and sings on all ten tracks, mixed and produced everything and even did the artwork. Now that's what I call multitasking.
Despite the album's title, his concept of pop is anything but linear. A massive cut and paste job has been conducted on a batch of home recordings to pair things down to a discordant and disorientating selection.
The problem is that in deliberately abandoning anything that remotely resembles conventional pop nothing remains that is in any way cohesive or accessable. As a result, even listeners well schooled in avant-pop will find it hard to get a handle on the project. While song titles offer themes of laziness, loneliness and normalcy, it is impossible to know what perspective is being taken on any of these topics.
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On top of this, Marquardt's voice is far from pretty. His petulant Johnny Rotten like whine is as atonal as the roller coaster backing and makes for a curious hybrid that for want of a better label I would call vaudeville punk.
The non-structure of this album is too arty by half and it is something of a relief that the rigorous editing job means that it lasts less than half an hour.
The Syllable Section on myspace
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