3.1.21 by Matty McPherson
A HausLive entry beyond the inaugural Sunwatchers Live at Cafe Mustache cassette has been long overdue–all things considered. Likewise, the same can be said to Good Willsmith! The brain terraforming trio of Doug Kaplan, Max Allison, and Natalie Chami have left a few breadcrumbs here and there beyond their 2016 release for Umor Rex. It was that release which acted as the culmination of their early cassettes, touchstones for what Hausu Mountain was to become. Thus, a “gen 1 bootleg” of their 4/25/2019 Sleeping Village concert is the perfect opportunity to return Good Willsmith to HausMo for the first time in over 5 years (!), check what they’ve been cooking up, and perhaps even welcome a newcomer like me into their cinematic universe.
Naysayers may complain that it’s a tad bit short with only 4 zones and a banter track (Tabs Out podcast soundboard, take notice). However, these are pristine on-the-spot-NO-OVERDUB sensations that further the band’s commitment to leaving no zone untouched. The free-flow of “Dolphin” goes between synthesizer squeals and a sick “Jerry Jam”; “Not Your Kids” sees Kaplan going into full bar rock mode, with a fantastic guitar wail taking center stage; “The Burning Orphanage Sidequest” lurks and falls collapses in real time, like an actual side mission gone awry; “Third Eyebrow” is perhaps the most playful of them all, with funk riffs, electro-clash ambient, and drums that’d make you swear you actually put in the OST for the boss stage of an unreleased Rareware platformer! That it ends with the promise of Guerilla Toss as it reaches the leader tape only left me savoring more.
Ages ago, Doug & Max said this in an interview with a japanese blog:
I think the sound of Good Willsmith is very representative of what music we like to release on Hausu Mountain:
⭑ music performed live
⭑ based on noise and texture
⭑ diverse
⭑ hard to describe
⭑ changes in atmosphere and moves between different vibes very fast…
⭑ can be heavy, noisy, beautiful
⭑ combining electronics with non-electronic instruments
⭑ is improvised
Their HausLive 2 refreshes that template, with the most jam heavy badassery on HausMo in a hot sec. The ascendance of Good Willsmith is back, pushing towards territories unknown. And it may just have even given the HausLive series a possible modus operandus as a guide to the best improvs in Chicago. Well played, Good Willsmith! Best grab this before it disappears into the wild.
Edition of 100 available from wherever you acquire fine Hausu Mountain goods and services
