In addition to turning in three very solid albums of his own in the past few years, Chad VanGaalen also produced fellow Albertans Women. The two albums he made with that band in his basement were distinctly homespun and lo-fi sounding, but packed with some of his characteristic idiosyncrasies-- from recording on boomboxes to unexpected appearances of synth to flourishes of odd percussion. There was a sense that Women were being let into VanGaalen's world rather than the other way around.
So it makes sense that he returns to the sound of the two Women albums on his fourth LP, Diaper Island. VanGaalen's previous records are characterized by their eclecticism, veering from acoustic folk songs to electronic synth workouts, and they often sound like grab-bags drawn from his apparently prolific recording habits (he recently told an interviewer he had recorded 80 songs leading up to this record). Part of what makes Diaper Island a success is its cohesive sound and restraint. There's an economy in his instrumentation and recording that allows a set of well-written songs to take center stage.
On Diaper Island VanGaalen internalizes feelings of restlessness into the fabric of his songs, giving them more depth than before. The de-tuned guitars of "Peace on the Rise" hew close to the sound of 1990s indie-- bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement loom large here-- spinning a downtrodden riff that's also quite an earworm. But the song's melancholy tinge takes an unexpected nosedive halfway through the song in a beautiful, droning mid-section that opens out with horns and rough textures. It's a characteristic left-turn, the kind of unexpected shift that VanGaalen used to perform with production switches on previous records.
But there's a lot of surface-level enjoyment too, as VanGaalen's excellent riffs compete for the spotlight. The best of these comes on "Burning Photographs", as glassy guitar propels zig-zagging verses in front of a loose, ticking drum beat. There's a satisfying energy at the heart of many of these songs, and VanGaalen allows them to sound slack and jammy as he launches into taut solos on "Replace Me" and "Blonde Hash".
The record manages to be compelling even during some of its weaker moments, such as spiky second-half cuts "Freedom For a Policeman" and "Can You Believe It!?". Both have an almost mean edge to them. VanGaalen sounds prickly on the latter song as he sings, "That fucking mind scanner/ That made me piss myself/ Now that I'm calming down/ I'm really thankful they erased it." It's not the most instantly enjoyable track on the record, but it shows a different side of VanGaalen's character and makes his songwriting feel more engaging on the whole.
VanGaalen closes the record with the line, "Baby, will you love me/ I'm really feeling ugly," on a song called "Shave My Pussy", and Diaper Island-- as hinted at with that title-- isn't the prettiest record he's ever made. Instead, it's gritty and honest. Beneath the surface-layer thrill of some of these songs are subtle character shifts and brave one-liners, all of which confirm VanGaalen's status as gripping songwriter as well as a producer.
