New Impossible Object

Last Friday, yk Records release a collaborative EP from Coupler (Ryan Norris) and sugar sk*-*lls (Ben Marcantel) entitled New Impossible Object. These two became friends in college some two decades ago and have been working together in some capacity ever since. Norris told me, "Our minds tend to move along parallel tracks, sometimes crossing, frequently converging, but generally moving in similar directions, two celestial objects careening through space while orbiting one another.” That's the kind of person you want to find in college!

The two Coupler songs that bookend the EP feature Norris singing / talking / using his voice. That is a notable first, as Coupler has always been an instrumental project. One of the aspects about making music for so long is that, occasionally, you push yourself into new territory. His usage of vocals is unique, not only because we haven't heard them before but because of the nature of his delivery.

Obviously I'm biased on the enjoyment levels of the release but everything about the release gives me the same vibes as reading a surrealist novel. There's a book called Kangaroo Notebook by Kobo Abe that starts with a man finding radishes growing out of his legs before he descends on a gurney into hell. It's not scary or horrific but it is otherworldly and offbalancing. It's also mesmerizing. I get those vibes from this EP. It's a descent into the surreal (for me). Maybe Kafka or Stephen King are better examples but all I think of is Kangaroo Notebook.

I love it when any two artists find a way to make something unique and these two have been finding a way to do exactly that for years. Give it a listen.