Life in a Blender | Satsuma
(Fang Records)
Fangrecords.com
Life in a Blender's new EP, Satsuma, raises the stakes of its highly literate songwriting—basing four of its six songs on works by Kurt Vonnegut, Jonathan Ames, Dean Haspiel, and the like—and its dizzying fusion of Beatle-esque power-pop, new wave riffage, and Zappa/Beefheart-derived musical anarcho-syndicalism. That may sound heavy, but even with lead singer-songwriter Don Rauf's focus on environmental destruction and human mortality, the Poughkeepsie-by-way-of Brooklyn-based outfit turns in a psychedelic blast of a listening party, where Exile-era Rolling Stones meet the B-52s and Lou Reed fronts NRBQ. Rauf's usual crew is on hand, including cofounder Dave Moody, to deliver the dazzling arrangements captured impeccably by producer/guitarist Al Houghton at his Dubway Studios. Satsuma comes packaged with a limited-edition booklet with custom art and a cocktail recipe for each song fittingly contributed by their "drunkest friends."
