Something people don't mention about getting older is that it is liberating. You start caring a whole less what people think about you and it feels pretty good. When I listened to Old Man by Gery Tinkelenberg he not only sings about this topic but the whole album emanates that vibe and it pays off immensely.
Tinkelenberg made a record that 20-year-old Brooklyn hipsters wish they could make. Throughout he finds an excellent balance between accessible harmonies and avant-garde experimentation as he sings about despondent relationships or meeting the grim reaper. The music is just really, really good. He comes up with parts that are immensely enjoyable to an experienced, connoisseur of music. Like sipping a fine wine a lot of enjoyment comes from the subtleties in what he does.
The EP starts off with the best song on the album called “Old Man.” The string part is hypnotic and original as it slowly builds with subtle dissonance. When the drums enter you know you’ve struck gold. It continues to build in a way that does abide by any one of the many clichés of modern post-rock but does its own thing. The song eventually breaks and gives us a bit of constant for Tinkelenberg to sing over. His voice isn’t particularly striking but it fits over the music quite well. Things only get better as the song continues. The last minute or so is a collage of white noise and strings that added a couple of extra points for me.
“This Place” sounded like a cocktail between Primus and Bob Drake. At about the halfway point the song gets a bit creepy and psychedelic as if you are roaming in a haunted house after ingesting a couple of magic mushrooms. Let’s just say it’s a breakdown you will not want to miss. “I Could Never Love You” centers around a sweet stand up bass and Tinkelenberg sounding like a boss as he sings about misguided feelings. The best part is when the song sounds like you're getting sucked into an endless black void and then transitions into sweet guitar jazz. Did I just write that? Better put did he just do that?
I think I have covered enough points here for you to realize Old Man is an exceptional album that I’m more than impressed with and will continue to spin for the foreseeable future. If you know what's good for you do the same and take a listen." -- Matt Jensen, divideandconquermusic.com
You know, I used to think that being old
Was like the end of the world
I dreaded it, man
But you know what, I'm there now
And I realize things are different
I don't really give a damn about what people think
and it's been a long time coming
Aging is liberating, man
Yeh - Lyrics from Old Man
"That just about sums it up. But this CD is not only about words, the music is very, very strong. And, believe it or not, fresh. Gery Tinkelenberg has an interesting way of playing his guitar, incorporating looping with interesting genre bending notes that really can't be termed conventional. His songs are compact and direct, anchored by a jazz oriented bassist and drummer. But jazz in this context doesn't mean restrained or polite. They are tough, passionate, and provide a very moving foundation. It's obvious that they've grasped what rock is about and are reveling in that. Add to the sparkling musicianship a very unique vocal style that is Gery's very own. It's real and it's his, presented with no doubt. Seriously." -- Blowitoutahere, CD Universe
"A Great Effort!" Using only his acoustic guitar and effects, the Oakland, California songwriter/guitarist/singer, Imperfect I, has created an instrumental CD entitled Groopoloops (2006). This is a collection of ten tracks, all of which are "spontaneous improvisations .......literally played and recorded on the spot." If one is guided by the inventive song titles, that influence will color the listening experience, and imagination will follow in turn. For example, "Bells On A Breezy Hill," and "Nice Song" are self-explanatory, with gentle, light, and relaxing accents, that make for a soothing sound. Likewise, "Yes, I'm Falling For You," plays like a country love song, tentative and quiet, and "Are You A Butterfly, Yet?" leads the listener on a transformational journey. On the other side, "No Bone For You," "The Bell Tolls For You," and "Man, This Crabgrass Is Everywhere," have a darker, deeper, more somber feel. Also included in this offering from Imperfect I, was a 2007 demo single called, "In This Way," which boasts a complex blend of rhythm and sound effects - a recipe of many flavors. -- Lily Emeralde and Emma Dyllan, Phosphorescence Magazine
Imperfect i is a project by Oakland-based singer/songwriter Gery Tinkelenberg. His new CD, titled Groopoloops, is a collection of songs performed spontaneously and based around guitar looping, with some sparse atmospheric percussion mixed in. The guitar playing is good, if not a little "new age," and the recording quality is excellent. In fact, all of the production on the CD comes across very well. The album's ten songs are more or less Gery jamming with himself over loops, and as free, improvised songs they actually work quite well. With no set structure, however, their length lends them to being more of an ambient soundtrack to a nice long drive in a big expensive car then out and out songs. The opening lines are usually lost in a wash of layers lapping up against one another, stirring the musical pot. The album is best when it breaks from its acoustic guitar roots and introduces darker, distorted, almost noisy sounds over the top in a manner that is very Frisselian. Considering that Oakland is home to much of the Bay Area's noise scene, these more aggressive elements make perfect sense, and would be a welcome point of expansion in Imperfect i's future. Much like the East Bay, which manages to balance the SUV yuppie moms and college fraternities of Berkeley with urban sprawl and often shocking poverty in the Oakland flatlands, Groopoloops is half contained and peaceful, half struggling and on the point of outburst. Considering the first half of this equation, it is strange to note that Imperfect i's bio makes note of Tinkelenberg's inability to settle down, as much of this music seems to be the perfect tantric love song to woo unsuspecting yuppie moms out of their yoga outfits and into whatever -- Nascentmag.com, Tyler Corlitz
Soft, melodic Ambient, exclusively achieved by means of acoustic guitar and a treatment of sound with electronic filters that provide it with a greater width yet without distorting the essence of its sound, this proposal is truly original, and the result attracts the attention of the audience from its very start. The atmospheres are soft, wealthy in layers of sound, as if it were an orchestra of guitars, and the textures offer us the freshness and spontaneity so characteristic of the acoustic guitar. -- Pascual Jurado, Amazing Sounds Webzine
