Shmu L - Compendium

It’s difficult to take a little blog break when artists like Sam Chown are sending you CD’s. Under the moniker Shmu L he has created a double CD that is the most ambitious release I’ve heard since the Smashing Pumpkins released “Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” over a decade ago. However, while I was mostly disappointed with that album (especially since I thought “Siamese Dream” was brilliant), that is not the case with Shmu L’s “Compendium.” I really admire the guy for having the guts to come out of complete obscurity to put out a 31 song, 2 disc collection that is 1.5 hours in length. Of course, I’d be preparing a rant littered with words like “pretentious” and “huge massive conceit” if this CD wasn’t so stinkin’ good.

Sam Chown is a local area musician who’s been recording himself since he was very young. From what I can tell, he was briefly in a band called Of Thieves before committing himself to this huge undertaking. He’s a big fan of shoegaze music (as am I) but what really impresses me is the fact that I think this CD is still completely accessible, despite all of its explorations into sound and fuzz. The opposites attract relationship between his ethereal musical soundscapes and his incredibly smooth vocals is compelling. He describes his sound as CSNY meets My Bloody Valentine meets Steely Dan which doesn’t sound like it should work, but it does, and very well. There are many standouts (“Drain Your Vein”, “Quills”, “Dysfunction”, “I Wanted You”, just to name a few) but I feel that the album really does need to be listened to in its entirety for the full experience. Overall, it’s an amalgamation of shoegaze, jazz, folk rock, pop and psychedelic progression. He plays most of the instruments himself, and also looks after the overdubs, multi-layers and textures contained throughout. This release has been over 2 years in the making, it sounds like it has been a true labor of love, and I really hope that it pays off for him because he definitely deserves it.

Download:
Come Into My Arms mp3
Quills mp3

Hear more of his music on myspace.
I’m sure his CD will be more readily available in the near future but if you want to purchase a copy (which you should) then you should e-mail him at schown@berklee.net