Album Notes

Whisperin and Hollerin .com
Author: Adam Harrington
Our Rating: 8 of 10

Ironically, logic seems to be the least guiding force behind Abeslogic (http://www.abeslogic.com), the project of Hawaii-based artist Abraham Vandenberg. On "Listening Inside," Abeslogic shift genres so much that you wonder if this is still the same album and the shuffle play button wasn't accidently pressed. To conservative record labels, this would constitute a nightmare; however, in this iPod-driven world, Abeslogic, for all its lack of logic, makes perfect sense. Is that clear?

At first, Vandenberg tricks us with his Lou Reed-ish deadpan delivery and electric fuzz on "Any Happening, Recently," the title of which sounds like a My Space post. Already you start to peg Abeslogic as a solid indie-rock outing with a yen for the Velvet Underground. While we've had hundreds of those already, you just can't go wrong being reminiscent of Reed. But then Vandenberg tosses his first curveball, "A Push Forward," which begins with Dave Matthews-styled funky, jamming guitars that quickly give way to night-owl horns and smooth-jazz textures. Say what?

Vandenberg is a man of many faces. From the pleasant Americana of "Ocean Waves and Sunshine Rays" to the jazz fusion of "Of Timing" to the '60s garage rock of "Next Reality," Vanbenberg pulls out multi-colored rabbits from his hat and surprisingly it all works. It helps that each track is given the same amount of TLC, a showcase for Vandenberg's versatility. While I do prefer his Reed-esque moments on the alternative side, the extra spicing on "Listening Inside" show everything that Vandenberg is truly capable of.