Listen to Gabriel Delicious’ ‘I’m Wigging Out But I Feel Patient’ Cassette:
The Seattle indie rock band Gabriel Delicious released their I’m Wigging Out But I Feel Patient cassette this month via Den Tapes. Fans of Destroyer’s Dan Bejar or Silver Jews’ David Berman will find much to love in singer Gabe Nardin‘s wry lyric delivery, and that’s high praise, indeed! Like Bejar and Berman, Nardin has a real knack for turning expected phrases on their ear, and while often playful and witty, the eight songs on this collection can still leave their bruised mark. For instance, on “Stranger Danger“, Nardin sings earnestly, “Let there be arms to reach out.” But it’s really just a set-up, so he can drop the more biting line, “C’mon everybody, grab a gun”–with mock glee. It’s that ability to switch tone on a dime that stands out through these tracks, and after following a more poetic bent later in the verse with the line, “Show me your attributes/Yes, show me to the sea”, Nardin finishes the couplet with a last ironic twist: “And I’ll swear I love this city/So much more than it loves me.”
“Nothing Great About Being Late 1” opens in a dreamy sing-song, but surreal visions await when Nardin begins: “It’s all fine/Yeah, it’s all real/Cause you take a taste/Out of an orange pill.” This song is about a friend/lover who is always late, and while Nardin’s lilt might lull you in, again, it’s only to drop a more stinging poetic indictment, like, “Your clock must be/Cosmetic at best/A romantic gesture/With the batteries dead.” Like Bejar, Nardin’s irony is often directed at contemporary culture. This song, as well as its’ second part, takes aim at our self-obsessed and self-medicated strategies for coping. This tact also prevails on “I’m Sick, Touch Me“–a tongue and cheek nod to Seattle’s grungier days. A continued assessment of our modern condition, Nardin opens, “You seem nervous/But you sure keep it to yourself.” Possibly a swipe at hipster cool, this song goes on to rock the unforgettable punch-line, “You’re giving up on gin/When your head’s in the porcelain.” And, as far as a colorful ability to mix tones, “Used To Be Delicious” might offer the spiciest example when Nardin turns the line, “That’s proof/What a dick I’ve been”, into a rousing chorus.
However, while these songs seem built around the songwriter’s lyrics, Nardin has also crafted off-handed musical compositions full of scruffy personality. Like David Berman’s work with Silver Jews, these tracks buzz with an unassuming, guitar-driven energy. While Destroyer might be more apt to take a song on a prog-like flight of fancy, Nardin and his band’s sonic output seems perfectly proportioned to each song’s lyric needs. That’s not to say there aren’t any musical surprises here, though. For instance, the cassette’s opener, “Glossing“, finds a late track guitar bridge that plays perfectly against Nardin’s vocal cadence when he sings, “Cause lately/I’ve been getting off on nothing more than…hey.” It’s just a brief change of direction, but it functions like a burst of rain on a hot day. Or, similarly, “Blown Out“‘s closing guitar solo, blazing with White Light/White Heat crunch, seems to blow in out of nowhere to clear the air with an extra helping of distortion. Again, it’s a facility with language–this time the language of the guitar and indie rock in general–that allows these songs to change directions with such ease and facility.
Somehow cool and nervous all at the same time, I’m Wigging Out But I Feel Patient is a cassette full of wit and energy. As the title would suggest, these are schizoid times, and they call for strong medicine. Sure, you could choose to stay in your self-obsessed bubble, or pop a Vicodin like the protagonist in “Glossing”, but that only seems to lead to constipation and broken rhymes. Instead, Gabriel Delicious offers a better cure here laced with a strong dose of irony and a music that takes its’ inspirational cues from the Golden Days of Indie rock.
Don’t forget, you can catch Gabriel Delicious live tonight at the Therapy Lounge (1509 Broadway, Seattle, Washington 98122). Doors are at 9 pm.
