Andrew Douglas Rothbard - Abandoned Meander

REVIEWED IN THE JANUARY STREET DATE MOJO AND UNCUT: ALSO A CD COVERMOUNT TRACK ON UNCUT: ANDREW ROTHBARD’S SOLO DEBUT IS A TOTALLY TRIPPED-OUT MIX OF POP-INFLUENCED FOLK AND DARK, HEAVY PSYCH. HE SPENT THE LAST DOZEN YEARS PLAYING KEYBOARDS AND BASS (SIMULTANEOUSLY) IN LEGENDARY OUTFITS VSS, SLAVES AND PLEASURE FOREVER, AND ABANDONED MEANDER CONTINUES TO SHOWCASE HIS VIRTUOSO ABILITIES. AFTER THE DEMISE OF PLEASURE FOREVER, ROTHBARD BECAME A BIT OF A RECLUSE, OBSESSIVELY WORKING ON THE SONGS THAT EVOLVED INTO THIS PSYCH-FOLK MASTERPIECE. HE SPENT THREE YEARS ON THE PROJECT, WORKING EACH TRACK INTO A STATE OF ABSOLUTE PERFECTION.

THE ALBUM IS THE FIRST IN A PLANNED FIVE-RECORD SERIES OUTLINING THE DISCORDIANT CONCEPT OF THE ‘LAW OF FIVES:’ THESIS, ANTITHESIS, SYNTHESIS, PARENTHESIS, AND PARALYSIS, EACH OF WHICH REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT STAGE OF LIFE. ROTHBARD EXPLAINS THE FIRST STAGE, ‘[THESIS] MANIFESTS CHAOS PROTECTED BY GODDESS ERIS, CODIFIED BY HEXAGRAM 2 OF THE I CHING AND DIRECTED ENTIRELY TOWARD YIN. SHE LIVES ON THE PLANET VENUS, AND HER TAROT CARD APPEARS AS THE HIGH PRIESTESS TRUMP II.’ NEEDLESS TO SAY, ABANDONED MEANDER HAS A HEAVY CALIFORNIA FEEL (ALTHOUGH ROTHBARD ORIGINALLY HAILS FROM SMOOCHLAND, COLORADO). ELEMENTS OF SUNSHINY POP, FOLK, ROCK AND NOISE ALL FILTER THROUGH ONE MIND-FUCKED, PSYCHEDELIC CHANNEL. NOT ONE OF THE THIRTEEN SIMPLE, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN TUNES WILL DISAPPOINT PLEASURE FOREVER FANS, FREAK-FOLK FANS, OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. RECORD NUMBER TWO IN THE SERIES, REPRESENTING THE ANTITHESIS STAGE, IS SLATED FOR RELEASE IN 2007.

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