Shamelessly Exciting

about this album

Jason Forrest's brilliant The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash announced Forrest to the electronic masses as the new king of sample-tronica, and while it can't replicate the shock to the system that Unrelenting provided, his follow-up, Shamelessly Exciting, is just as impressive a record and just as full of dazzling technical and musical achievements. In fact, it is a perfect follow-up record, giving plenty of what you loved about the previous record but tweaking it enough to keep things exciting and fresh. As with Unrelenting, it is a blast throughout to play "find the sample" and marvel at the skill and dexterity Forrest uses to fit them together. Check the ease with which he turns his 36 favorite punk songs into "My 36 Favorite Punk Songs," the little riff fragments and occasional shouts blending into a storming electro-punk track. Or check "Dreaming and Remembering," a track that manages to melt '70s soft rock, disco and hardcore techno into a glittering treasure. Forrest is less apt to sample AOR references; he's gone the soft-rock route this time digging into Gary Wright, Gerry Rafferty (with a cool mashed-up "Baker Street" sample on "Skyrocket Saturday" ) and Seals & Crofts, among others. The whole record is filled with these head-shaking moments of wonder, as on "New Wave Folk Austerity" (which somehow manages to sample both Yes and Blondie and make it work), the thundering "War Photographer" (which features chopped up Blood, Sweat & Tears samples),

tracks

more from Jason Forrest

The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash

The Everything

Lady Fantasy EP

Sonig Irregular CD Vol. 1

Recovery

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White Cock CD Compilation 1-4