Burt Hussell plays all the instruments. And I think he sings as well. This isn't an electronic project, but at times it presents as one. I don't think he's MIDIed up his guitars, as that would be positively archaic, sometimes it sounds like it. Even more curiosities pile up as the album rolls on.

Burt Hussell High Desert (self-released)

There is a heavy layer of processing over this, not unlike 80s new wave. Hussell has worked really hard to find just the right sound for his vaguely distant sort of poppy funk. At times I think he hides a bit too much behind his synth scrims, but in the end his creativity and hooks come through.

A lot of this sounds something like a kooky, too-busy rendition of New Order. Hussell seems hell-bent in his desire to cram one more idea into each song, and that sense of overflowing is one of this albums biggest charms. That and an almost incessant musical self-consciousness. There's always something screaming "Listen to me!", and often it's yet another earworm-worthy hook

With all of that, these songs still manage to come together. Sometimes its just a piece or two that comes to define the song, and at other times the whole subsumes the parts. I don't think Hussell has fully wrangled his ambition, but I like the way he works. A most intriguing and pleasing set.

Jon Worley