The Killing Of Eugene Peeps
Gearbox, 2020
8/10
Listen to The Killing Of Eugene Peeps
On this 3rd album from the always impressive Bastien Keb, the artist offers a variety of textures, including eerie ballads, curious instrumentals, brief bouts of jazz, and atypical folk gestures that often sounds like a score to a film you’re compelled to want to see.
“Main Title” starts the listen with an indeed cinematic opening as bright yet cautious brass leads into mysterious talking with plenty of ambience, and “Lucky (Oldest Grave)” follows with falsetto vocals in a bare, pretty atmosphere that’s not without mystery.
Elsewhere, “Can’t Sleep” brings in haunting storytelling that seems like it might soundtrack a nightmare, while “Street Clams” recruits plenty of playful funk into the raw climate. “Paprika”, an album standout, then showcases Cappo on the spacey hip-hop anthem with fluent rapping.
As we get to the end, “The Trains Don’t Keep Me Up Now” uses strategic percussion lightly as a dreamy backdrop complements the gentle speaking and warm keys, and “The World Creaks” exits the listen with emotive strings as elegance and adventurousness meet at a very atypical finish.
A multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, trumpet, bass, drum, flute, and piano, among others, the London resident played all the music here live, and recorded, mixed, engineered and produced the affair, too. Keb has already impressed with his first two albums, and it will be exciting to see what his highly creative vision comes up with next.
Travels well with: Benny Sings- City Pop; Delicate Steve- Till I Burn Up