Block‘s 2006 album The Last Single Guy drew ample praise for its immersive anti-folk sound — spanning from the brass-laden spoken-word introspection of “Ave. A” to the shimmering acoustics/piano interplay within “Far Away.” With a tendency to propel talk-singing into cathartic, melodic choruses, the album excels in its stirring production and thematic pursuits — capturing love, loss, and the striving to persevere through a tumult-filled modern existence, with a mixture of wit, sincerity, and humor.
Block has recently signed with Meridian (ECR Music Group), who will be re-releasing his catalog of releases. In the case of The Last Single Guy, the newly released deluxe edition features three previously unreleased tracks: “Hands Up,” “Cream Crackered,” and “Run Run Run.” There has never been a better time to check out this enthralling album from Block, who describes it as “a time capsule to a chaotic time in my life.” He continues: “It’s sort of a musical diary of my rock bottom. Once these three bonus tracks were unearthed in a digital archeological dig — just as we’d left them — and then so amazingly restored and mixed, the album was complete.”
All three new bonus tracks succeed with their own, melodic personalities. “Hands Up” melds sporadic acoustic strums and a bouncy bass appeal as the vocals beckon to “ride with me, take my hand,” — rousing into a psych-touched array of electric guitar twangs amidst downtown lyrical scenery. “Cream Crackered” stirs in its outer-space references and title-touting hooky refrain, moving amidst sturdy guitar jangles, while “Run Run Run” appeals in its a smoky, lo-fi folk styling with creaky guitars and pulsing piano infusions. Be sure to check out this fantastic deluxe edition of Block’s The Last Single Guy.
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“Hands Up” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
