Abandoned Pools, "Humanistic"

Vintage Vinyl is currently having a buy 2, get 1 free sale on our $3.99 used compact discs.

To celebrate, we'll be skimming the bins and posting about some of the gems to be found.

Here's Abandoned Pools' Humanistic, released in 2001.

John Murphy writes on the Music OHM blog:

Abandoned Pools is the brainchild of one Tommy Walter, who previously played bass in Eels. They were very much the pet project of Mark 'E' Everett however, and a band as bleak and intense as The Eels could be meant that Walters was soon on the lookout for a solo project. Abandoned Pools is that very solo project, and first impressions are that he could easily follow the success of his former cohorts.

It's easy to see why Walter may have felt frustrated in The Eels. As well as writing, singing and playing the vast majority of the instruments here, he also shares a co-producing credit. He also possesses a keen ear for a melody - this album has more hooks than your average fisherman's basket. The record swings from generic metal through Prince-like funk to midpaced ballads, yet never feels disjointed.