When an artist limits his audience to himself, the results can typically be lumped into two categories. On the one hand, an insatiable sense of perfectionism and an unobstructed imagination can capture an entirely unique vision. Then again, such unchecked single-mindedness can lead a project to cave under the weight of its own idiosyncratic whims. And while Rafter Roberts, better known as one half of Bunky, certainly had a larger audience than himself in mind on 10 Songs, these recordings from 1998 and 1999 have a similarly hermetic feel-- and, more often than not, avoid such auteur pitfalls.
Recorded in San Diego's Go-Homes, an alternative living space he shared with other emerging local talent, the songs demonstrate an inexhaustible patience for layering sonic details and sprawl into such divergent territory as moody instrumental pieces and relatively straightforward indie pop. Throughout the album, Rafter's painstaking approach to production is rich, commanding headphone scrutiny. It's hardly a surprise, given that Rafter has since worked with numerous San Diego bands-- including Black Heart Procession, Castanets, and Pinback to name a few-- as an engineer. That this is his strong suit is abundantly evident on these early recordings: Even when the essential songwriting seems a little anemic, the songs' meticulous construction and lavish arrangements are strong enough to conceal it.
Ironically, some of the best moments on 10 Songs are the less focused indulgences. Opener "Bicycle" is loaded with wowing flourishes, most notably dense drumming that creates a tense foil for the trebly, plinking patterns that Rafter picks through on an electric guitar. But, as he sings about learning to ride a bike in a whiny timbre that conjures Doug Martsch, the song's melodic weakness becomes apparent. By contrast, the less linear instrumental "'R' Is for Reach" wanders unpredictably for eight minutes, shifting its instrumental palette. Rumbling live drums become glitchy beats, the interplay of two woozy saxophones segues into piercing trumpets, and warmly echoing synth notes mark the song's spare coda. Equal parts Entroducing...-era DJ Shadow and David Lynch, "‘R' Is for Reach" is haunting and surreal-- and far more compelling than Rafter's stabs at more conventional songcraft. On the violin-laced "Single Molecule" and the brooding, whispered "Dwells In", this formula for transporting atmospherics proves to be Rafter's most potent.
Some of the material on 10 Songs, such as the dirge-like "I Don't Like to Get Down on My Knees" and the banjo-driven "You'll Never Win, He Says", are more easily forgotten. And Rafter's willful cutesiness (sample lyric: "My friend the crow/ Is reading my journals") induces the occasional cringe. But these early recordings are such a showcase for Rafter's skills as a multi-instrumentalist and, above all, producer that it's no mystery why Asthmatic Kitty couldn't let these early productions remain unheard.
