Last we heard from Ludlow Ejacula, they’d been posting sparse duet singles on their bandcamp and playing as many NYC shows as they could possibly fit into their schedules. Now, with “Thinking In Dominoes,” NYC alt rockers Ludlow Ejacula have begun to hype the release of their debut EP on March 2, which I’m sure you should be excited about. Stream away!
I’ve heard this song a lot already. When I say “a lot,” I mean it, too – I’ve played at least a couple Brooklyn DIY shows with Ludlow Ejacula, and every time I’ve seen them live, they’ve gotten reeeeaaaal grimy for the verses, tighter and tighter every time. Probably the most distinctive aspect of “Thinking In Dominoes” from a composition standpoint is the quick-strum unison bass and guitar part arrangement, setting a deliberate but also somehow furious cadence that allows singer Emily Brout to really unload her passion on the choruses. In other words, I’m a fan of this song – it’s not easy to do live, but I’ve seen Ludlow Ejacula nail it enough times that it’s made me confident of their status as one of the cooler unknown NYC live rock bands.
That being said, I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of a few key aspects of production – the snare drum has too much ‘air’ to it (it feels like the reverberations from each hit sort of push other instruments out of the foreground), and there’s something about the vocal production that is just a little too watery or wispy for my taste. I do like how the parts coalesce delicately towards the ends of verses, and when guitarist Bryan Thornton’s fuzz kicks in, it definitely has a “glue your neck and head to your car seat headrest” effect to it (as all good fuzz should, right?). Still, this isn’t a $50,000 album recording, so I’ll cut ’em some slack. “Thinking In Dominoes” is one of the stronger and also more unique arrangements I’ve heard from Ludlow Ejacula, and I’m real excited to be able to listen to this on my phone whenever I want.
Keep up with Ludlow Ejacula on social media and go stream their one song over and over again on soundcloud.
part of me just wants to act like the coolest kid in your comment box and write in full-caps how the bandcamp version is far superior tbh fam but another much more well-reasoned part of me is telling that other part of me not to be a dick about it
I am torn
in any case, dem drums rly need to reel it in a bit for dat first verse, you get me?
they overcomplicate the sparse, minimalistic, building-this-thing-brick-by-bloody-brick thing they got going on in the first half of the song
I dig it tho, I dig it