Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be

Though it is a reasonable length for a single album, Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be manages to cram in about ten albums worth of musical ideas into its 45-minute running time. The staggering variety of the music here is a wonder to behold, from minimalist repetition of single sounds to epic blasts of symphonic pop, and Max Tundra (Londoner Ben Jacobs) reveals himself as a formidable talent. "Cakes" comes crashing out of the gates martial drumming, flutes, and a dense wall of guitars and keyboards. In the song's first minute, the song breaks down into humorous neo-electro with a dash of classical piano, then moves into AOR guitar pop before retuning to the triumphant opening salvo, this time with a blaring trumpet on top. No less impressive are songs on the minimal end of the spectrum like "Ah, There's Deek Now, Let's Ask Him" (which consists primarily of an intentionally sloppy percussion pattern and organ) and "The Balaton" (which sounds like high-speed Philip Glass-styled repetition played on a cheap Casio synth.) And the lengthy closer "Carson Cones" evolves from spastic beats and sound effects into a powerful guitar coda reminiscent of Jim O'Rourke. If you are into instrumental music with variety and can endure the occasional harsh passage, Some Best Friend You Turned Out to Be will hold up well under several hundred listens. ~ Mark Richardson