Cory sent me the below to post this morning early, so I’ll do that and add below. -h
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The new Cory Kibler record, tentatively titled “Due To The Nature Of The Dart Itself,” or possibly “Pass Me That Ruler, I’m Gonna Measure Some Shit,” or maybe even “Some Asshole Pretending To Party,” is without a doubt the best record ever to come out of the Kibler District of Lincoln, NE.
I suppose it’s the only full-lengthish solo record I’ve ever done, so that’s why it’s the best. And the Kibler District is just anywhere where I am, personally, so that’s how that goes.
Basically, it’s got the same ingredients as some of my past jamz: minimal guitar, or simple guitar, anyway; my soft girl-voice swearing from time to time, usually because my mic was buttered improperly; etc. No, but it’s sounding great so far; if I were to describe my songs on this record, I’d say they were to-the-point, catchy, bittersweet, soft, and perfect music for a movie soundtrack. I actually kind of think that last bit is pretty spot-on. “Violently Real Reality,” one of the hit-joints off of the record, would be a bona-fide tearjerker at the end of some Zach Braff movie. Maybe Wes Anderson, if I’m lucky.
Usually, I stick to sounding as much like Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith and Death Cab as I can without getting sued, but according to Howie, I’m getting better and better at sounding like “me.” Which is nice. It’d be nice to write a song so uniquely your own that people would know it was yours even if they heard someone else perform it. Like, when people hear my other smash-single “Joanna (You Forgot The Time)” covered by Dylan in concert next year, I want them to think, “F*ck! I wish it were REALLY Cory up there! This Bob guy’s a jokester!”
Really though, I’m incredibly excited for this record to reach your ears. I feel like I’ve honed my lyrical abilities better on these songs than with other songs I’ve written, and I feel like there’s a lot of variety and somehow also a lot of cohesiveness. I think it’s a pretty record (“pretty” being a vague modifier, but guess what? I don’t give a dang-dang!). I hope that when people listen to these 9 songs, they desperately want more. Or at least, I hope people don’t barf into their own hands after hearing it!
Love, Cory Alan
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Cory actually does need an album title, so think on that if you like.
The record is a natural step forward to my ears; on the surface level, it’s like a mix of Creepy-Eepy and the little guy’s solo songs from Shacker’s The Dimly Lit Room. But I think it shows cool growth in terms of diversity in the songs’ rhythms and lyrics. I don’t think Cory can hear how far he’s developed in his own way from that Neutral Milk-thing; I’m mostly thinking of the fingerpicking style on songs like “Easy Kill” and “How We Can Know” (to pick two you might have heard by now on the Lone Prairie murder ballads comp / XMAS). I haven’t heard anyone compose and play guitar quite like that anywhere.
Time passes very quickly when I put the record on, so I must be getting really into it. I think we’re going to work on it for a few more weeks; we want to try some keyboard stuff, and I’ll mix/master but that won’t take long. (Actually, in the mastering stage I’m going to replace Cory’s record with acoustic Avril Lavigne recordings! He probably won’t notice!)
-h