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  • Music For Scattered Brains

    ALP81

    Artist: AZ

    Label: Atavistic

    AZ -- marginally better known as Azita Youssefi, bassist and singer for Chicago no wave revivalists the Scissor Girls and Bride of No No -- recorded this solo synthesizer album during the lull between those two bands. As abrasive and non-musical as the Scissor Girls' most aggressive albums, Music for Scattered Brains also has a sort of playful, almost endearing quality to it, largely because on tracks like "New Extricate Pugs," the vintage-sounding synthesizer seems to be set on "ducks farting." Tape manipulation efforts like "5 Sec. S" are somewhat tougher sledding, though even it and the self-explanatory "Day 1 Tapes," which has an out-of-nowhere accordion solo, have a rough-hewn, homemade charm. Music for Scattered Brains isn't for everyone -- even a lot of experimental music fans may dismiss it as a lightweight waste of time -- but although it's slight, it's one of the most purely listenable albums AZ has ever been involved with.