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Pupa's Window
and Private Eleanor: An Autobiography of Prohibited Sounds
An Autobiography of Prohibited Sounds is a strangely beautiful experiment by two of Baltimores most interesting songwriters. Mike Nestor (AKA Pupas Window) and Austin Stahl (AKA Private Eleanor) decided to make a create an uncollaborative collaboration of sorts by recording one side each of an album without letting one hear what the other was doing; the result is a sort of musical double blind experiment that has as its only condition that each artist write and record songs in ways that they hadnt yet attempted on any of their other albums. In the spirit of musical science, both artists seem to have gone forth and really experimented with their songwriting on this record, with some success and some failure; though the success clearly outweighs the failures and even the failures seem to have some value. We often refer to musicians as artists and while this term probably applies technically, it really feels weird referring to Jennifer Lopez or Ricky Martin as an artist. Additionally, we often talk about artists experimenting with their art. Sometimes it seems that experiments are all that exists in the avant-garde of music; and by experiment, we mean trying weird things and hoping somebody likes it and innovating solely for the sake of novelty, rather than really trying to push the art in further, more fruitful directions. Joan of Arc, and to a lesser extent, Gastr Del Sol were notorious for this type of experimentation. Neither side of Autobiography is experimental in the above sense, nor are they that different. Despite slight stylistic differences, both sides are remarkably similar in tone and in quality. The music tends towards acoustic and contemplative, though with a notable hint of sadness and wistfulness underlying the whole affair. Side one, the Private Eleanor contribution, uses repetition of phrases with slight addition and subtraction of elements to great effect, a device of modern music that has begun to permeate more and more into the indie and specifically singer-songwriter bag of tricks lately. Side two, the Pupas Window side, seems more obtuse at first, but then gradually begins to open up and draw the listener into the very personal and compelling world of Michael Nestor. In the end, this is a record that sticks with you and begs repeated listening. Anyone who takes the time to track down a copy of this unique record will definitely find his efforts rewarded with something increasingly rare and special: music that is as intensely personal as it is strange and different.
This album can be purchased at Beechfields Records
Pupa's
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