The Bathtub Sophist
Music From An L-Shaped Room CD / EP
Review by Bruce Stringer
New Zealander, Arron Stewart (aka The Bathtub Sophist), has produced an EP of interesting electro-synthetic industrial grooves and harder edged funk / metal with repetitive loops and samples. Initially, one might feel his project would suit a listener with a more eccentric, experimental leaning – although some of his heavier work seems to embody the spirit of units like The Ministry. In that manner, the music is quite digestible especially with the strength of his fun retro pop numbers that offset the heaviness of the industrial elements. Stewart’s use of the vocoder (voice synthesizer) in place of actual singing places his project on a different level than others of this caliber.
The hand drawn, homemade look of the artwork embodies the DIY ethos of The Bathtub Sophist and this, in turn, reflects the novelty of the project which is freely available from Stewart’s myspace site.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
|