Deep breath: It’s been nearly 20 years of high marks Mr. Lars Aldric Finberg, shocking as that calculation may be to make. Be it as basher in A-FRAMES and THEE OH SEES, secret weapon of WOUNDED LION, architect of PUBERTY and administrator of THE INTELLIGENCE, his whirlwind presence has been a reliable one; that of an artist that people look for and look toward. With outlets as varied (be they casual or all-consuming) as this, what oh what then prompted the emergence of a solo offering? In truth, it was In The Red’s outta-nowhere green-lighting of the concept that sent Finberg’s brain bubbling toward Moonlight Over Bakersfield, a statement of entirely his own concoction…A truly swirling step from a guy that’s always movin’ diagonally. Followers of Finberg’s recording history will immediately detect a plume of confidence around Moonlight Over Bakersfield, an air that each successive offering has inched toward but now, at long last, has taken full bloom. It’s legitimately wonderful to witness Lars ordering off the top shelf across every aspect of the album, recognizing this as a collection of experiments and bangers deserving of such treatment. This assuredness carries over thematically, with Finberg tackling both personal and political obsessions with equal honesty and sophistication. His lone messaging when providing the album for perusal? “I got a little bit weird on this one.” And how: a wrong-made-right cross fade opens “Permanent Prowl”, a personal status upd

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