Lagerstätte is a German word that directly translated means “storage place.” It is most used in English when talking about fossils; it is loosely defined as an area plentiful with well preserved fossils. An example of this would be Los Angeles’ La Brea tar pits. Maybe that is what inspired Calfornia-based musician, Cochrane to name his sophomore album, Lagerstätte? Still, it is an odd choice but that is not the only thing that is odd about the album.
With only four songs but totaling over 33 minutes, each track is an amalgam of electronic bleeps and bloops, esoteric percussion, and difficult to decipher instruments. Opening track, “The Roiling Cells,” features pianist Erik Deutsch who is best known for his work with Fat Mama and Leftover Salmon. With that type of jam band pedigree, you might assume the track would mix Cochrane’s electronic production with improvised piano or synth; that is not exactly what happens. The first-minute-and-a-half feels sitting in the hallway of a music school and hearing people tuning and warming up from multiple rooms. None of the instruments stand out, making them all seem equally important. After the first minute, a glitchy beat comes in. This is what really lets you know that the song has officially begun. Just because it has begun, doesn’t make it any easier to digest. It creeks along off-kilter with instruments going in and out with no discernible pattern until the cacophony of sounds start dying out eight-and-a-half minutes in.
Deutsch returns for the album’s third track, “Future Name.” The song is the album’s most accessible with a steady boom-bap beat setting the backdrop and jazzy synths and reverb-drenched guitars improvising over the top. That lasts for roughly the first half of the song; the second half gets a little more disjointed. The beat gets glitchy and less steady while the instruments become a bit more ambient in the mix. It creates a dreamy landscape that is simultaneously relaxing and nightmarish.
Relaxing and nighmarish was probably the working title of the album’s second track, “The Cat, The Muse.” Featuring synths that sound straight out of the Stranger Things soundtrack, the repeated synth melody gives the listener a lot to glom on to–at least, relatively speaking. About two-thirds of the way through the track, it seems like things were going too smoothly so some harsh drums are added in to send the listener to the volume knob to turn things down a bit.
Despite the descriptions of the other tracks, album closer “Dad Song” is the busiest of the bunch. The instruments are less ambient, more atonal, and more arhythmic. The result is the most difficult listen of the album.
None of Lagerstätte is an easy listen but it is an interesting listen. There are pieces and sections to like on each track, although it might take multiple listens to figure it out.
Rating: 7.2/10
