Chad VanGaalen

Chad VanGaalen, from Calgary (Canada), emerged with Infiniheart (Flemish Eye, 2004 - Sub Pop, 2005), an album that he composed, performed and produced by himself, arranging the songs with a large arsenal of classical instruments, self-made instruments and digital/electronic devices. Superficially, VanGaalen appears to be yet another singer-songwriter in search of the magic pop hook and aiming for becoming the next Dylan. Instead, his melodies per se are not particularly original (the opposite) and his lyrics per se are borderline tedious (like the lyrics of most songwriter), but the arrangements are another story: they are indeed original. And so the overall experience of the album is indeed unique and multifaceted. VanGaalen is a visionary of the song format, which he bends to increasingly complex strategies: Neil Young-ian folk ballads (After the Afterlife), power-pop (Clinicly Dead), anemic Crosby Stills & Nash-ian elegies (The Warp Zone / Hidden Bridge), deranged country laments (I Miss You Like I Miss You), and, at the top of the pyramid, free-folk excursions (the atonal Kill Me In My Sleep and the ethereal spaced-out trumpet-tinged 1000 Pound Eyelids, almost in Tim Buckley's territory). Even when he seems to stick to the traditional song format, he manages to pick odd melodic structures, like in the bluesy lullaby Sunshine Snare Hits. Best, though, are the beat-based instrumentals: Graduated Assassin, the dadaistic synth-pop orgy of Dolphinariums and the glitchy digital psychedelic industrial surf shuffle J.C.'s Head on the Cross: many of the songs sound like instrumentals that are somewhat ruined by vocals (see the gothic coda of Somewhere I Know There Is Nothing).

Skelliconnection (Subpop, 2006) sounded like the leftover of the previous one, although ostensibly culled from hundreds of songs recorded in his basement. The stylistic range seemed to denote more a lack of musical skills than an eclectic taste. None of the songs truly succeeds. Each does something to spoil either the melody or the vocal display or the arrangement that would make it truly impressive.

Soft Airplane (2008) is a much more conventional collection of poppy songs: Willow Tree and City of Electric Light are ready for mass consumption. Bare Feet on Wet Griptape adds a punk verve. Bones of Man has echoes of Syd Barrett. The eccentric genius of the first album returns only in the robotic synth-pop mechanism of TMNT Mask and in the noisy collage of Frozen Energon.

Diaper Island (2011) is a rather monotonous experience of nondescript litanies, with the exception of the truly surreal Shave My Pussy and of two violent outbursts, namely Burning Photographs and Replace Me.

The Green Corridor II (2012) contains nine VanGaalen songs (notably Weighted Sin) and a 20-minute Xiu Xiu composition (a wildly self-indulgent one).

VanGaalen experimented with a noisy production that buries the songs in sound effects on Shrink Dust (2014) while embracing the aluminum pedal steel guitar. The warped gospel chant Cut Off My Hands and the noisy Madchester psychedelia Where Are You? are the best examples of the new passion for multilayered arrangements. Out of the mess he pens the catchiest hook of his career in Monster, finally worth it of Syd Barrett, and he dives into savage garage-rock like never before in Leaning On Bells, which sounds like the Mamas & the Papas arranged by Phil Spector and accompanied by the Troggs. Alas, the surprise wears off quickly and we are left with a set of bizarre spaced-out singalongs. The best songs fits in easy canon, but half of the album is filler.

Light Information (2017) adds Old Heads to his canon but mostly sounds like an inferior version of Shrink Dust.

Lost Harmonies (2020) and Lost Harmonies 2 (2021) contain barely sketched tunes.

World's Most Stressed Out Gardener (2021) is a streamlined version of VanGaalen, with a much simplified sound. Samurai Sword and Spider Milk could have been made by any indie folksinger. The one moment of madness is Inner Fire.

Its twin Full Moon Bummer (2021) contains the almost religious psalm Slow blade, balanced by the whispered singalong Dance Again (and its demonic ending), and the anthemic Gates of Hell, balanced by the ethnic dance Santoor. But, again, a lot is filler.