Search - Roy Montgomery :: 324 E. 13th Street No. 7

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Mike Reed | 11/22/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"324 E. 13th Street No. 7, named after the apartment in which many of these tracks were recorded, chronicles the New Zealand singer/guitarist's progression from treacly, Leonard Cohen-esque ballads in the late '80s to the minimal yet spacier stuff for which he has garnered some acclaim today (see his collaboration with Chris Heaphy, Bardo Pond, Dissolve, etc). Aside from the blips and bloops of later tracks, most of this album is cold enough to form glaciers atop even the most unstable CD players. Check out his especially chilling reading of Wire's "Used To," which would leave Colin Newman clamoring for a good sweater."

Roy Montgomery - '324 E. 13th Street #7' (Drunken Fish)

Mike Reed | USA | 12/28/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This sort of musical genre,singer/songwriter has never exactly been my cup of tea,although I'll have to give credit to New Zealand's native Roy Montgomery.The man CAN write and play good songs.Twenty tunes compiled here with a duration of 71:19.'324...' features Montgomery's six(6)singles from l985-99.So,I guess that would mean that three songs come pressed on each single.In fact,I think I remember getting a vinyl 45 of his several years ago.Tunes I thought that sort of stood out were the surf-rockin' like "Trial By Separation",the acoustic guitar gem "Cousin Song","Just Melancholy" and "Strange Attractor".Didn't seem to hear too much of a space rock element here,more like maybe psychedelic pop.Good,just the same."

Drunken Fish does it again...

C. Moon | Valley Village, CA | 03/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Drunken Fish is seemingly in the business of invalidating my vinyl collection; well more power to them, especially when it comes to 7 inchers. I haven't a clue as to who drools over the prospect of listening to a big pile of singles--not I. Call it apathy if you wish, but music for me is a process of absorption and immersion, something difficult with vinyl to begin with and impossible with singles. So why of all things Roy Montgomery decided to release some of his best and most personal tracks on no less than 10 singles is a point which continues to perplex me. Perhaps it is an aesthetic issue I don't fathom, but for whatever reason, the folks at Drunken Fish have given me reason to celebrate with a collection of Roy's singles on a 70 minute CD. "324 E. 13TH Street #7", or 'The singles album" (as it will come to be known), is not the pastoral guitar-scapes of Temple IV and Scenes from the South Island. Roy's songs are warm and intimate, understated with an overwhelming sense of isolation. If music is about communication, then Montgomery is a master of setting, frozen scenes of melancholy, sunset photos from scrapbooks. Often there are bows to the likes of the Velvet Underground and Wire, but ultimately these songs make a unique tapestry, evoking moods like no other.While I am quite enamored with this disc, it is not without flaws. I wish the notation was a bit more clear, for instance, the butchered Winter Song's On the Road #1 appears on the original vinyl as 'Visions of Emma'. More so, of the two out 5 tracks from that album included here, the ones chosen seem the lesser of that release (I liked hearing Roy's take on 'Hear comes the Ocean'). Also, Zabriskie Point has been completely excluded as well as another all-instrumental single I was never able to pick up (and thus don't recall the name of.) Obviously the whole of his works never would have fit on one CD, so my gripe is very minor, though it does leave one to wonder why with such a wealth of material that the singles route was taken. As to positive marks, the first two tracks are from a single released sometime around 84, meaning that the Fish has pretty much saved them from oblivion. Also, the Ajax tracks have been remixed such that Roy's vocals can actually be heard, a labor of love I can only hope has been well rewarded. Also, the last track is unreleased, so even if you have all the singles, there is still reason to pick this one up, never mind that you can now listen to your heart's content without bothering to get up from your chair between every track."