World Garage [KLP235]

Inspired by Bollywood, a trip to Morocco, and Serge Gainsbourg, Angelo Spencer’s second full-length album with Les Hauts Sommits, World Garage [KLP235] brings armloads of new instruments and the flavor of exotic locations to a compilation of songs that amount to more than just an album, but an experience of wildness. Hearing Spencer transition from English to French, from guitar to hand percussion, and from soft singing to autotuned screaming, it’s easy to close your eyes and imagine that you’re running barefoot through the soft grass of, somewhere. Somewhere else. Backed by local musicians Ben Kapp, Karl Blau, Clyde Petersen, with guest vocals by Rebecca Redman (from the band Watercolor Paintings), World Garage began as a bundle of songs bits that Spencer played for everyone, along with a mixtape of Algerian, Moroccan, and Bollywood selections meant to serve as inspiration for how he wanted the finished album to sound; from the sounds of it, it did the trick. Also available: Angelo Spencer et les Hauts Sommets, Angelo Spencer et les Hauts Sommets [KLP216]