by Niccolo Dante Porcello (@ChromeChompsky)
However lengthy a moniker, The Adventures of The Silver Spaceman – the primary project of Zachary James Ellis (formerly of Haybaby) – deal in the kind of first-wave indie rock that came to define a very particular era. The first single off of the loquaciously named Bare Bones Part I: Oxygen Is Flowing Although the Bag May Not Inflate, “Grave Digger” is a romp through the finer moments of that era, favoring clean vocals paired with bright production that allow for every corner of a track to be heard. “Grave Digger” finds Ellis at a relaxed moment, hitting a point somewhere between Iji-esque yacht rock and Pavement-like expansion of ideas; the most remarkable moments are those when Ellis’ vocals come in, pushed high above the instrumentation, his clearly being the literal and figurative voice to focus on.
A long time member of various levels of DIY, Ellis’ saying “I can dig my own grave / and I can lay in it / I can make it last if I / just stay with it” seems like a logical response to the financial challenge and perceived societal distrust with those who eschew 9-5 lives for a world built around touring, selling tapes in basements, and generally less structure. This is not a criticism; indeed it lends personal credence to TAOTSS, Ellis himself remarking in an interview (via The Wideshot), that “it’s really just become something to express myself through”. With that in mind, there are few mysteries on “Grave Digger”, only forward-paced and deeply catchy rock n roll.
Bare Bones Part I is TAOTSS’s first effort for Capitalist Records, with a follow up, Bare Bones Part II: Electric Earth being due out sometime next year. Part II will be recorded with the same members, notably Sam Yield (of Haybaby) and Chris Abbadessa. Clocking in at an efficient three minutes, there is something to be said for a record that promises to be a touch cleaner than many of the prominent DIY releases of 2015, putting an emphasis on experience over abstraction and for making a more “pop” style of rock that isn’t the heinous music off the dreaded “radio”.
Bare Bones Part I: Oxygen Is Flowing Although the Bag May Not Inflate is due out digitally on December 11th with cassettes to follow on December 18th. TAOTSS is playing a release show at the Gutter in Greenpoint with Holy Tunics, (label-mates) Bodega Bay, and Brian and the Binaries that very same evening (12/18).
