Boduf Songs

Boduf Songs

Stench Of Exist

Flenser

England / Ohio’s Mat Sweet presents his latest album under the Boduf Songs moniker via The Flenser! Stench of Exist is at once his most accessible and most esoteric work to date; from the opium flow of the tracks, running headily into one another like tributaries to river, to the muted-industrial-electronic-effected drums underscoring the spiraling melodies and fluttering drones, to the clean and rich guitar, abstracted cycles and feedback walls, its whispered doom metal masquerades as a lullaby. Stench of Exist unfolds languorously, laced with mysterious electronic filigree. Gorgeously intimate, it transforms the minimal into maximal with layers of electro-detritus wreathed in lush guitar strums, street-side field recordings, reverberating pianos and softly crooned vocals. It is a record of rain and cities and nighttime. The collision of arabesque tonalities with electronic sound and ambience brings to mind the promise of Blade Runner—half-asleep at 4:00 A.M. and slightly medicated, with pyramids and flame-spewing cityscapes in downpour glowing against the fluttering eyelids in the almost-dreaming consciousness. A record for saturnine commuters, on headphones, after sunset.  “Unsettling and gorgeous...” —All Music Guide “In Boduf Songs’ brutal theology, darkness devours light, death defeats the living, and nature and culture are at perpetual fisticuffs.” —Pitchfork “Boduf Songs makes some of the duskiest, autumnal and beautiful loner psychedelia.” —Stereogum “The spare use of his blurry instrumentation is the secret ingredient to the horror in these songs. Sweet packs a punch for such a quiet fellow, and his vortex is indeed a powerful one.” —Tiny Mix...

Boduf Songs

This Alone Above All Else In Spite Of Everything

Kranky

***CHECK STOCK!!! Received a 7.2 rating from Pitchfork. The fourth BODUF SONGS extended play was created using MATHEW SWEET’s standard recording set up of a single microphone and a small array of instruments, but it comes with a few surprises—most notably the prominence of electric guitar, bass and stomping drums on a few tracks. All of the elements that make his previous sound creations so arresting are still present; the impeccable song structures, the minimal approach, the delicate yet dominant singing. The album opens with the naked sound of the hammers of an old upright piano striking strings, an apt metaphor for the lyrical content which is just as raw and exposed. Mathew broadens his vocal approach here, exploring range and employing some unpredictable, well-placed harmonies. This Alone Above All Else In Spite Of Everything is effectively a concept record, and makes for a dramatic journey. Mat states "There is a theme that runs through each song and the track order is paramount to that - it's a hugely important part of making a record work." So pay attention.

Boduf Songs

Lion Devours The Sun

Kranky

***MATTHEW SWEET is an alchemist, having developed the powers to mysteriously transform a minimal palette of common musical elements into something extraordinary. While his work contains references to psychedelia and folk musics, it fits comfortably in neither category. His understated vocals are delivered not as a declamation, but rather as a muted invitation to listen to his tales of the failing human condition. Nine tracks.

Boduf Songs

Boduf Songs

Kranky

***BODUF SONGS is MAT SWEET of Southampton, England. His debut self-titled album is a collection of home-recorded tracks performed with acoustic guitar, cymbals, violin bow, toy piano, manipulated field recordings, and a computer. The songs are filled with memorable melodies, artful arrangements, and carefully placed effects that lend an air of surrealism to the album. Intimate, immediate, and engaging.