VERT

Some Beans & An Octopus

(Sonig)

Record Review by Amber Henson

How could I not be interested in a title that contains the word octopus?  But we’ll confer about my cephalopod obsession another time.  Right now we’re discussing VERT, who is Pulp in accent and lyrics and Beck, Groove Armada, and David Byrne in structure.  

Some Beans & An Octopus came out in October, three years after VERT (Adam Butler’s) last album, Small Pieces Loosely Joined.  Between this album and last, VERT’s studio was ransacked of all equipment, and they didn’t even leave the computer back-ups.  But VERT took something that could have been career ending and turned it into a chance to make an album that is truly unique.

All of the songs tell stories, and my favorite song is no exception.  “The Familiar Girl” is about a man named Diego’s quest for a girl who he runs into every so often but he can never seem to “ask her her name.”  This song is rather reminiscent of David Byrne, but with Fiona Apple beats.  This track is followed by “October” which could have been from the I Heart Huckabees soundtrack, until the ending, when VERT busts out some minimalism on us, Steve Reich style.  But don’t be frightened.  Go with it.

The best part about this album is that it seems to have the ability to make you like types of music you didn’t know you liked.  For instance, ragtime is a big part of the CD, but it’s presented in such a crazy, roundabout way, you couldn’t even identify it as ragtime unless you were told.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this album.  The sheer amount of work and instrumentation put into each track is astonishing, as is the resulting sound.