A new review of my latest recording Not Good Enough from the Downtown Music Gallery in NYC!

JEFF McLEOD – Not Good Enough (The Subversive Workshop; USA)

Jeff McLeod is a multi-instrumentalist from Alabama who has worked with Killick, Tatsuya Nakatani and has several oddly named projects like Zepublic, Saragashum and The Rudy Banes Shutdown. This promo just showed up in the mail and Mr. McLeod played all of sounds/music on this disc. According to his website he plays: features piles of guitar, analog synths, dobro, mandolin, acoustic percussion, oddball sequencing methods and vocals. The title track is first, “Not Good Enough” and it sounds like McLeod has layers several guitars, which are playing together in tight, mysterious patterns. Manipulated guitar parts or keyboards and percussion are soon added with some distant chanted vocals. The music is closer to old progressive music than anything else and reminds me somewhat of the Master Musicians of Bukkake. McLeod slowly adds other instruments or samples of. It sounds like McLeod has spent quite a bit of time adding connected layers of parts, several manipulated guitars, rather orchestral in the way they sound. He also utilizes his voice effectively, not singing words but still expressive howls and other occasional vocal sounds. The music here falls between psych, prog and space rock without any being too obvious or predictable.

On “Taking”, McLeod actually sings some strange words with his odd yet compelling voice. I love the way the background vocals, multiple guitars and synths are working together in a rather kaleidoscopic way. On “Quaalude Eggs”, McLeod gently strums an electric guitar with subtle reverb, adding another layer as he accentuates certain notes, plucking in a harp-like fashion, the overall effect is most mesmerizing. On the final piece, “Old Ideas (Modified)”, there is a quirky, somewhat funky drum machine groove with more layers of eerie guitars playing these interlocking patterns. Some of the guitar parts are rather warped or bent out of shape. This piece reminds me a bit of the Residents and the way they take something recognizable and twist into an unexpected shape. Is that a bowed guitar or guitars bend with effects? Does it matter? Not so much. The overall effect and music here is most fascinating and impossible to pin down to any one bag, genre or style. Time to check more of what Jeff McLeod has done and there seems to quite a bit found here: https://subversiveworkshop.wordpress.com/ – Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG