Rockbites: Sappington’s surreal take on slow-core

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August 2001 • Rockbites Alternative Daily

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Sappington’s surreal take on slow-core
24 August 2001

Dean Wareham’s minimalist anti-rock trio Galaxie 500, which sprang from Boston in 1986 against the grain of most all that preceded it, trademarked a highly emotional, brazenly slow, hypnotically atmospheric kind of pop. Way ahead of his time, the seeds he planted have sprouted into a garden of fascinating bands including Low, The Czars, and The Zephyrs (not to mention influencing, no doubt, the shoegazers and their progeny). The newest child of Galaxie 500 is San Francisco’s Sappington.
    The unsigned duo quietly released a four song EP last year (at nearly 30 minutes it’s as long as some LPs) titled simply Sappington. Minimalist, ever strange, surprising, enchanting, and evocative, the set comes in surreal, monochromatic artwork that attractively complements the sonics.
    Sappington propose you can mingle Low or Bardo Pond-style dreamy vocals with Broadcast-style experimentation and Slowdive-style lushness. Well, I’m here to say it works.
    Now, if you’re skeptical of slow-core or it tends to hit you as pretentious, it is unlikely you will be won over by Sappington. But that, of course, is your problem!
    Within a fresh and confident musical identity manifested by Ann Talbott (vocals, multi-instruments) and Keith Vidal (programming, guitars), the four tracks on the EP (Submarine Mission, 4PM Sunday, Velvet, Desert Spaceman) go in four different directions—hinting that the pair have a lot more to say.
    As with The Czars, you gotta gear your mind way the fuck down to hop the Sappington train. But once on board you’ll discover endless wonders in the layers... on layers... on layers of sounds that all seem quite surprised to find themselves juxtaposed face-to-face. Then after a bit the blips and noises and plucks and drones discover they get along quite well after all, thank you, and it all flows. Four bites out of five.

Rockbites ratings  5: life changing, 4: stunning, 3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying.

Sappington play two SF Bay Area shows this weekend

August
24 - Oakland, CA (Portlite w/ Raoul)
26 - San Francisco, CA (Dance Mission Theatre w/ Deerhoof, Bonfire Madigan)
| Sappington | | Sappington on MP3.com | | top of page |

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