It's hardly worth noting the "home recording" quality of an album's production anymore. Fewer and fewer albums embody the sensibilities that qualify for this category of light praise in a noticeable way. This is partially because it's no longer noteworthy to record at home. Every indie musician has to do it in some capacity out of necessity. There just isn't the money being doled out for making records like there used to be. More significantly though, the equipment and software people have at their disposal for recording at home have become more sophisticated, and as a result, all the weird but interesting imperfections that someone could get from recording directly to tape in their bedroom end up getting clipped and filtered out. While it's an aesthetic that seems to be withering for lack of exposure, there are still points where it surfaces. Detriot musician Jared Sparkes appears to actively be engaged in reviving this tried and true indie aura- like embers in a hearth that stubbornly cling to life long after the fire has spent its fuel- stirring the ash and kicking up sparks with his project interior geometry and its latest album TORE THROUGH THE SKY. It sounds rough and cozy, like an old arm blanket that you found in a chest in your grandfather's attic. Jared has a very casual but unselfconscious guitar style that glints with a hint of wry, unvarnished charm- a style that is highly reminiscent of Silver Jews' patented, quirky strum bracketed by some light effects and playful chaos. He is joined on the record by a gang of troubadours, who include members of Idle Ray and Child Sleep, and whose summed performances on the album feel a bit like you've stumbled into a room during a house party where a bunch of friends had taken a break from drinking and socializing, picked up some instruments they had found lying around, and started to pluck out some remarkably cohesive melodies by ear. The album has a discernable impromptu air about it that bubbles up along an anxious excitement, almost like the players aren't sure what they are making, but they're excited to give it their all and listen back later in the hope of discovering a delightful surprise. The humility of these recordings is further reinforced by the toneless tenor of Jared's voice, which when forced to produce a melody, becomes dense and flat like a piece of 2D geometry. It's so flat and obscure that it's actually arresting- and a little funny. I almost get the impression that the band had tagged in Brian Posehn to honor the project with his reflexive, befuddled groan of a voice (a scenario that is not outside the realm of possibility for future albums). Jared's atonality is contrasted beautifully at points by the vocal performances of Mary Fraser and Emily Roll, who both sound stunningly sublime, elevating these songs through their contributions in a kind of unalloyed transcendence and piercing evanescence. In the face of its modest presentation, TORE THROUGH THE SKY will drop a little bit of heaven into your lap so long as you have the hospitality to open the doors and window of your abode and let its homespun goodness shine on in.
