RAFTER
Music for Total Chickens
Asthmatic Kitty
· If "total chickens" can make sense of this, they can have it.
On the strength of Sufjan Stevens’s phenomenal output over the past few years, Asthmatic Kitty has become one of the most talked about record labels on the indie circuit. Hoping to capitalize on that is Rafter with Music for Total Chickens, his second album for the label.
The only thing Rafter shares with his famous labelmate, however, is eccentricity. Where Stevens has a knack for melody and intricate composition, Music for Total Chickens is pretty much a beatless, tuneless art project. Rafter weaves together various different sounds and comes up with something that isn’t altogether bad, but lacks cohesiveness. With most songs ranging around the two minute mark, the album is plagued by unfinished thoughts and ignored potential.
There are moments when you can tell that Rafter is a gifted musician — the orchestral washes on "Boy" are the runaway highlight of the album. Too often, however, Rafter seems content to experiment with as many ways to make noise as possible. Mission accomplished, I suppose.
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