East River Pipe
We Live in Rented Rooms
Merge Records
East River Pipe, a.k.a. F.M. Cornog, has been a lo-fi favorite of the Tape Op crowd for six albums now, and it’s easy to see why. Unlike many bedroom Brian Wilsons who cover their limitations with volume and angst, East River Pipe creates lush, melancholy moments of resignation and solitude. His characters lead lives, as the saying goes, of quiet desperation, and Cornog has a knack for capturing the thoughts between the lines of everyday life, such as the porn-watching antagonist of “Tommy Made a Movie” locked inside his head. With layers of vocals, bubbling synths, and restrained drum machines topped with washes of guitar, this is beautiful stuff. Cornog spends 40 hours a week in an orange smock as a Home Depot employee, so don’t expect to see him live anytime soon. But creations such as We Live in Rented Rooms are best heard alone anyway, in a quiet place where his observations and ruminations can echo. And echo they will.
East River Pipe: http://eastriverpipe.net
