Fifty Gallon Drum Album

The Internet exhales the strangest musical ideas. Some are awesome, some dull, most of them are simply boring. Rowan McNaught's Pop-experiments are worth a listen - though I bet some of you might disagree. The experimental Pop-tunes he releases under the name of Pompey refuse any proper classification. He switches from lo-fi Electroacoustica to Ambient to Avant-Pop like changing your underwear. Connecting element: the sound of the gallon drum.
 
After an EP and a full-length album in 2005, "Fifty Gallon Drum" is the latest record by Pompey. It's out on Pocketclock Music, a small Australian Netlabel that features The Sound of Young Melbourne. The music on the new Pompey album is made of uneven rhythmic drum-patterns, gallon drums, synthesizers, some askew vocals and a handful of tiny noises. [...] If a collapsing tower of gaudy building bricks will ever need a soundtrack, it'll be Pompey.
 
The Pompey songs preserve a strong improvisational sense, they seem like sketches that have been recorded accidentally. Still there are beautiful melodies and structures that justify the category Pop music. Some people probably dislike Rowan's loose tunes. But if you're into Can, The Beta Band, Animal Collective or Russian Gultskra Artikler, you probably dig the Pompey-muzak.
-- Phlow

Rowan M