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Kleinmeister

by Ruth Garbus

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Professionally replicated discs in black & white, "eco-wallet" gatefold sleeves, featuring original artwork by Ruth Garbus. 9 tracks, 36 minutes.

    CD edition limited to 500 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Kleinmeister via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Opaque natural vinyl LP
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    High quality, 160g LPs in extra heavyweight, black & white jackets with original artwork by Ruth Garbus & 11x11 Risograph-printed lyric sheet inserts. 9 tracks, 36 minutes.

    Opaque natural vinyl edition limited to 250 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Kleinmeister via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

  • Black vinyl LP
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    High quality, 160g LPs in extra heavyweight, black & white jackets with original artwork by Ruth Garbus & 11x11 Risograph-printed lyric sheet inserts. 9 tracks, 36 minutes.

    Black vinyl edition limited to 250 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Kleinmeister via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
Strash 04:56
Skirts around the factual edge of the sex screen Urinating over the edge of the TV Shaved away bell always so Naked in a heavenly body Coming on a stage covered in roses and poppies Rooted in the sand covering our ancient plastic toys Plasticated paper and popsicle sticks covered in algae Leppy my stuffed animal being with me till I’m old now This giant hole Is the way That I use To say Oooooo Oooooo she say Paddles dissolve, dip upstream Insurmountable heaps, hot and green Swirling mirror, I see me Cup of sun, orange breeze Visceral viscera wet cardboard steam Pressing on the head like a fruit about to explode Sucking all the brains through a very, very long hose now This giant hole Is the way That I use To say Oooooo Oooooo she say
2.
Pain 04:18
3.
4.
Squirrels 02:53
5.
Beauty 04:37
6.
7.
Slusher 02:54
8.
9.
Fetty Wah 04:24

about

"I go back to Ruth’s music over and over again. She has the best, weirdest chord changes, the catchiest and most exotic melodies and lyrics, distilled over what I imagine to be many months and years.

"To me her songs reaffirm the power of music itself and its basic elements - big and small intervals placed just so in time, the play of sound and meaning in words, parts put together without force or artifice. Ruth is one of my favorite singer-songwriters ever."
- Chris Cohen

Kleinmeister, the new album by Ruth Garbus, is a rarity, the holy wastewater of folk-rock decanted into the Lake of Avalon by a provincial plebe, turned into wine. It is sublime, and absurd, and infused with the green hills, grey cemeteries, and plastic detritus of her Brattleboro, Vermont home.

These compositions come from an odd but familiar world, chiaroscuro silver litter in the beam of a flashlight. In Garbus’s voice, too, the dark and light are combined - even the highest pitches contain pools of undertones, a depth. (She became fully expressed as a mezzo soprano, in both her range and her soul, with the aid of opera singer Jim Anderson, whom she studied with in 2017/18.)

The first track of Kleinmeister is “Strash,” a sensual ode inspired by the book Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte, with unison singing by Julia Tadlock. This is followed by “Pain,” which builds in size and scope toward a kind of operatic emo-political drama, and achieves levitation with piano played by Travis Laplante (Battle Trance, Subtle Degrees), who also acted as producer, and additional production by Ryan Power, who mixed the album.

From there, Kleinmeister moves into barer bones, highlighting Garbus's resonant voice, rhythmic guitar, and the impeccable recording quality - it was recorded to two-inch tape at Guilford Sound in Guilford, VT by Dave Snyder. Sparse, skewed harmonies, sometimes sung by Tadlock, lilt throughout. The final track, “Fetty Wah,” features Laplante again, this time on tenor saxophone, with improvised melody lines that uplift but still contain a bit of the sorrow of the world.

Garbus’s prior solo recordings - 2010's Rendezvous with Rama LP and the EP’s Ruthie's Requests, Joule EP, and Hello Everybody - have been released on Burger Records, Autumn Records, Feeding Tube Records, and OSR Tapes. Currently, in addition to her solo performances, she improvises vocally with an experimental quintet featuring Wendy Eisenberg, Donny Shaw, Neil Young, and Andy Allen. She was previously in the bands Happy Birthday and Feathers.

credits

released August 30, 2019

All songs composed and arranged by Ruth Garbus, published by Video Piano (ASCAP)

Samples: “Fetty Wah” embodies portions of “Bali Hai” written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, published by Williamson Music Co. (ASCAP)

All songs produced by Travis Laplante
Additional production on “Strash,” “Pain,” and “Fetty Wah” by Ryan Power
Recorded at Guilford Sound in Guilford, VT by Dave Snyder
Assistant Engineer: Matt Hall
Mixed by Ryan Power at Perfect Pets in Brooklyn, NY
Mastered by Matt Barnhart

Ruth Garbus: vocals and guitar on all songs, vocoder on “Strash”, synth on “Pain”, finger cymbals on “Grey Sweatshirt”
Julia Tadlock: vocals on “Strash,” “Squirrels,” and “Slusher”
Travis Laplante: piano and shaker on “Pain,” tenor saxophone on “Fetty Wah”
Ryan Power: synth on “Pain”

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about

Ruth Garbus Brattleboro, Vermont

Ruth Garbus (she or they pronouns, b. 1981) is a musician living in Brattleboro, VT. Primarily a songwriter and vocalist, Ruth has released numerous solo albums, EP's, and singles. She is also a member of the groups Earth Flower and Gloyd.

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