Who the hell are Drunken Logic? Well, essentially it`s singer songwriter Jake Cassman and whomever he`s roped in to develop into fruition what`s going on in his mind. Jake had around twenty ideas come hidden gems piling up on his phone with no album/EP to call home. The weekend the country began to shut down, he resurfaced those demos and finally organized them into three EPs and a full-blown album. The first of the EPs, ‘It’s Only Temporary’, offers a flurry of eclectic alternative pop and power pop that chronicle his experiences of intense loneliness and anxiety.
This extended play opens with `A Good Soul Is Hard To Find` and was inspired by the strange noises the singer heard in the creaky old apartment building he lived in during college. Those same sounds seemed to emerge and overwhelm him all over again in his new place in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. There`s some background traffic noise then vocals appear that are shared in almost a spoken word like texture against a backdrop of synth swathes and a repeated drum beat and bass line before some crashing guitar riffs join in and take things up a notch. The repeated line of “these days a good soul Is hard to find” becomes like a gospel mantra and I for one am converted. There`s a more dance like vibe to ‘Lost In February` which has some wonderfully intoxicating rhythms. It had that hint of Moby when Moby actually meant something. A hypnotic, exhilarating and invigorating slice of power pop.
`I Believe In Gravity` was written about coming to terms with the choices you`ve made in life and a lack of control. It has a sort of melancholic otherworldly feel but reminded me so much of some of the excellent almost experimental stuff Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips have put out. This four-track offering closes out with the quite eclectic `I Follow My Shadow On The Wall`
Where there`s some really weird but so wonderful stuff going on but with Jake`s vocal delivery being the only constant throughout.
‘It’s Only Temporary’ is at times offbeat, quirky, experimental, and surreal but most of all, thoroughly innovative, emotive, and enjoyable, There were contributions from Dave Austin (guitar), Mike Holowatch (drums), Ashley Ng (cello), Alex Remnick and Zach Roberts (bass). The release was produced by Nick Ziegler-Heil.
There are a couple more EPs and an album to follow, and I cannot wait to hear them. As the title refers ‘It’s Only Temporary’ is a reassuring reminder that this pandemic will come to an end and this offering is no better a way to seek some transitory respite.
Rating 9 /10
