Working out of Mississippi, R. Cole Furlow racked up an impressive number of skuzzy but super poppy lo-fi singles and EPs since he began recording as Dead Gaze in 2009. In 2013, Fat Cat/Palmist rounded up a bunch of his best songs from the now-out-of-print recordings, then added a few new ones, ending up with something that functions as a greatest-hits so far, and an introduction to the super-catchy, weirdo pop Furlow seems to effortlessly churn out. Writing hooky, happy songs and then dropping them in a boiling vat of noise is a time-honored trick, and Furlow certainly coats his perky little '90s-influenced indie rock/pop songs in a murky layer of gunk. The drums are loud and clatter-y, the guitars a layer of buzzy grunge (not Grunge), and the vocals are often over-driven, sometimes given a robotic distortion effect. No matter how scuffed up and gross, the intrinsic sweetness of the melodies comes through pretty strongly. Try as he might to be a noisenik, Furlow is a pop guy at heart. Tunes like "You'll Carry on Real Nice" or "Back and Forth" are endlessly catchy, even though they sound like they were recorded in the bottom of a well. It becomes even clearer what a tunesmith Furlow is when he strips back the noise and gets relatively squeaky clean. "Glory Days for Sure" sounds almost like a backwoods Cocteau Twins with its chiming guitars and sleek synthesizers; "I Found the Ending" has a nice Cure feel, but it's a little messy and loose. The balance of all-out noise pop and more restrained songs makes for a good listening experience, showing both sides of the Dead Gaze story. As this excellent introductory comp proves, no matter which sonic path he chooses here, or will choose in the future, Furlow's songcraft and skill at coming up with hummable, strummable songs will serve him well and make fans of pop music with a little grit and gunk quite happy.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo