Bottom of the Hudson is mostly the work of one man, Eli Simon, with assistance from regular collaborators. Previous BOTH albums were collections of bedroom demos and older material; their first EP for Absolutely Kosher, Holiday Machine stays loyal to the 8-track. It's less diverse than The Omaha Record, and if you were a fan of 90s indie rock, it's probably nothing you haven't heard before-- some of Guided By Voices' scrappy production, a dash of Pavement's ennui, and some Archers of Loaf-brand scruff.
The album opens with its title track-- deep, detached vocals floating above swaying rhythms and chugging guitars, It's a pleasant stroll down "120 Minutes" lane, but things pick up with the second track, "Riot Act". Jangly guitars hold court over strummed power chords, pulled along by the double-tracked vocals of Simon on a simple, reaching melody. These songs are deceptively basic with a hint of melancholy.
Guided By Voices seems an apt comparison, with "One of Us" aiming for the same target as subdued GBV gems like "My Valuable Hunting Knife" or "I Am a Scientist." I'm not saying it's just as affecting, but BOTH wrench surprising gravity out of its few slow chords and simple hook, "But you're not/ One of us." The way Simon phrases it, cut between the "not" and "one" and sung in flat tone that doesn't pine or sneer, makes getting ostracized sound like inevitable fact, as commonplace as a high school gym line in order of ascending height.
The remaining tracks hew even closer to Alien Lanes-era GBV, particularly the roughshod electric drum beat under the jangle of "Conjecture Measure", or the thin power chords, strange accents, and non sequitur lyrics of the effortlessly catchy "Candyman". The melodies aren't as instantly memorable as "Riot Act" or "One of Us", but there's not a hint of filler, and more than half of the tracks have me hitting repeat before this brief EP ends. Tracing over the lines of classic slacker bands is an easy way to sound unaffected, yet I don't hear any ulterior motives in their nostalgia, just simple, self-assured songs from a band that never grew out of the 90s. Put it this way: Talent isn't flashing how much better you do something, it's making what you do better look easy.
