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LP
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FTR 341LP
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"The eighth Feeding Tube LP by Chris Weisman vinylizes a 2015 CDR originally released by Hidden Temple Tapes. Weisman is, as always, the master of his own domain. Crafting pop tunes worthy of any sophisticated pen you can name (from Nilsson to Beck), his presentation this time is starker than usual. Lots of strummed guitar and shadows of other tastes lurking in the distance. As on his last LP, Play Sharp to Me (FTR 234LP), Chris seems to have added blue notes and hints of discord to his sweet surges. A certain jazziness from that session persists as well, giving the songs here a lilting swing that makes their hooks all the more dangerous. At times the songs almost have the feel of a 'guilty pleasure' (ala late Todd Rundgren or early Shins), but forget the guilt. This is the sound of the Upper Valley Underground at its finest. You can listen to it all you want. Even bob your head approvingly, and no one will be able to say you're anything but up-to-date as hell. In that sense, Chris Weisman has always been a thinking person's alternative to lots of stuff. Of course, that will all change when he gets heaped the praise his songs so richly deserve. But that's no reason to not get out ahead of the pack. And once you've figured out how much you love Chaos Isn't Single, don't forget to check out his back catalog. It's richer and fatter than Johnny Depp's ass." --Byron Coley, 2017 Edition of 300.
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LP
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FTR 234LP
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"Tired of being pegged as 'the Beatle of Brat,' Chris Weisman has changed gears without shifting his focus, creating a masterpiece of multi-origin pop in the process. Lyrically, the tunes on Play Sharp to Me (title nicked from James Joyce), retain their New England underground tang, rolling localisms like barrels of sweet maple syrup between the trees of heavily forested hillocks. But the sonics utilize various swathes of strange sunshine to create a unique tapestry. We've encountered Chris using late '60s Beach Boys textures before, but on Play Sharp he adds something that's weirdly jazzy and lazy, as though that first Ben Sidran album on Capitol was an ode to surrealist parlor games or something. But what's so cool about the sound of the record is that Chris hints that he's familiar with every obscure pop genius, from Emitt Rhodes to Scott Miller to Pip Proud, without ever doing anything specific. It's more that he creates an aura in which you begin to assume he knows it all, because his grasp of elements is so absolute. This is what... the ninth album Feeding Tube Records has done with Chris? Something like that. And each one has been brilliant and idiosyncratic and unique. Play Sharp is no different. And completely different at the same time. Another miracle of creation. What are you waiting for?" -- Byron Coley, 2016.
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2LP
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FTR 074LP
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Vinylization of a brilliant cassette album originally issued by Autumn Records in 2010. Perhaps best known as one third of Happy Birthday, whose eponymous Sub Pop album was much favored by people with ears, Chris is sometimes called The Brian Wilson of Brattleboro. When you swim into the ocean of Weisman's sound you will find your ass alternately cupped and buffeted by paddles of unique design. Weisman pretty much does all the work on Fresh Sip -- vocals, keys, guitar, percussion -- all of it blasting out like a classic ready-made version of Todd Rundgren rewriting the Chris Bell Songbook with help from Dean Torrance. The sides flow and ebb like a pleasantly full diaper, although -- like a diaper -- there are also surprises in store for lucky listeners from coast to shining coast. No less an arbiter of yuppie etiquette than NPR's "All Music Considered" rated Fresh Sip as one of the top ten cassettes of 2010, and for once, those Skele-Toes running shoes-wearing cupcakes may have gotten something right. The more it plays, the better it sounds. Take that, Bob Dylan, you fucking crybaby.
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