Thought Gang is a studio album by American composers Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch created under the joint moniker Thought Gang. Though released on November 2, 2018 through Sacred Bones Records, Thought Gang was originally recorded in the early 1990s. The album was preceded by a Lynch-directed music video for "A Real Indication" on November 1, 2018.[1] The video was created in 1992 in the 8mm video format.[2][3]
| Thought Gang | |
|---|---|
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| Studio album by | |
| Released | November 2, 2018 |
| Recorded | 1991, May 1992–May 1993 |
| Studio | Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles |
| Genre | |
| Length | 59:15 |
| Label | Sacred Bones |
| Producer | |
Background
editIn 1991, Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch decided to form the jazz project Thought Gang.[4] The short-lived effort lasted through 1993 and led to two tracks included on the soundtrack for Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)[5] and a few scattered pieces on other Lynch films, like 2001's Mulholland Drive and 2006's Inland Empire.[6] On September 18, 2018, it was announced that a previously unreleased album under the title Thought Gang would be released on November 2 of that year.[7] Lynch described Thought Gang as "a grand experiment",[8] and Kory Grow of Rolling Stone called the music experimental free jazz with spoken word elements.[9]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [11] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[12] |
| Pitchfork | 6.2/10[13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
| Sputnikmusic | 3.5/5[15] |
Thought Gang was met with mostly positive reception. The album received an average score of 70/100 from 5 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10] AllMusic's Bekki Bemrose acknowledged the difficulty and eccentricity of the music but recommended it to hardcore fans of Lynch and Badalamenti.[11] She went on to write that the album's greatest asset is its "sound of two old friends having a great deal of mischievous fun".[11] Andy Beta of Pitchfork expressed mixed feelings on the strangeness of the music (especially Badalamenti's spoken word vocals) and wrote, "As frightful and bewildering as a Dion McGregor nightmare, Thought Gang reveals Lynch and Badalamenti’s shared drive to disrupt any through line or logical outcome, the sounds and words as baffling as dream logic".[13] Kory Grow of Rolling Stone described the album as "unpredictable and uneven but also strangely compelling", echoing the sentiment of other reviewers that the music is at once magnetic and repulsive.[14] Writing for Exclaim!, Jenna McClelland described the album as "for lovers of non-expositional storytelling, crude mystery, lipstick-red esoteric jazz, and noise".[12]
Legacy
editIn August 2021, American experimental band Xiu Xiu released a cover of "A Real Indication" along with new merchandise depicting the cover of their Twin Peaks cover album Plays the Music of Twin Peaks.[16]
Track listing
editAll songs written by Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stalin Revisited" | 2:02 |
| 2. | "Logic and Common Sense" | 3:34 |
| 3. | "One Dog Bark" | 3:07 |
| 4. | "Woodcutters from Fiery Ships" | 4:35 |
| 5. | "A Real Indication" | 5:34 |
| 6. | "Jack Paints it Red" | 3:40 |
| 7. | "A Meaningless Conversation" | 3:13 |
| 8. | "Frank 2000 Prelude" | 1:53 |
| 9. | "Mult-Tempo Wind Boogie" | 4:09 |
| 10. | "The Black Dog Runs at Night" | 1:45 |
| 11. | "Frank 2000" | 16:41 |
| 12. | "Summer Night Noise" | 9:02 |
| Total length: | 59:15 | |
Personnel
editAll credits adapted from Thought Gang liner notes[17]
- Thought Gang
- Angelo Badalamenti – vocals, synths, piano, production
- David Lynch – lyrics, percussion, production, vocals, synths, guitar, mixing
- Additional musicians
- Reggie Hamilton – acoustic bass, electric bass, guitar
- Gerry Brown – drums, percussion
- Tom Rainer – keyboards, clarinet, saxophone
- Technical personnel
- Bruce Robb – engineering, mixing
- John Karpowich – engineering
- Josh Achziger – assistive engineering
- Mike Gibson – assistive engineering
- Mike Bozzi – mastering
- Art Pohlemus – mixing
- Dean Hurley – mixing, sequencing
- John Neff – mixing
References
edit- ^ Serota, Maggie (November 2018). "Watch the 1992 Video David Lynch Shot for His Thought Gang Collaboration with Angelo Badalamenti". Spin. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (November 2018). "Watch David Lynch's 1992 Video for 'A Real Indication'". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Eede, Christian. "Watch: Lynch-Directed Thought Gang Video". The Quietus. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Schatz, Lake (18 September 2018). "Long-Lost David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti Album to be Released This Fall". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Blais-Billie, Braudie (18 September 2018). "David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti's Lost '90s Album Is Getting Released". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Grow, Kory (2 November 2018). "13 New Albums to Stream Now: Pistol Annies, Rosalía and More Editors' Picks". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Bruce-Jones, Henry (18 September 2018). "David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti Uncover Esoteric Jazz LP Thought Gang". Fact. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Wray, Daniel Dylan (6 November 2018). "David Lynch on His Band: 'Sound Like Headless chickens on Speed!'". The Guardian. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Grow, Kory (31 October 2018). "David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti on Their Wild Jazz Experiment". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ a b "Thought Gang by Thought Gang: Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- ^ a b c Bemrose, Bekki. "Thought Gang – Thought Gang". AllMusic. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- ^ a b McClelland, Jenna. "Thought Gang (David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti): Thought Gang". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- ^ a b Beta, Andy. "David Lynch / Angelo Badalamenti: Thought Gang". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ a b Grow, Kory (7 November 2018). "Review: David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti's 'Thought Gang'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Simon. "Thought Gang – Thought Gang". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ "A Real Indication, by Xiu Xiu". Xiu Xiu. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
- ^ Thought Gang (CD liner notes). Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch. Sacred Bones Records. 2018. SBR-214.
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