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Amateur Night at Club Stupid - Better Late Than Whatever [Full Album]


Playing Next: 1 Hour Album Challenge (Full Album)


\"On Amateur Night at Club Stupid's long-overdue full-length offering, the aptly-titled Better Late Than Whatever, the experimental outfit deliver their trademark hip-hop flows atop meandering jams reminiscent of The Grateful Dead. When this experimental genre-bending approach works, as it does on the album's opening number, it elevates the genre to new heights. Likewise, the songs that place the instrumentals front and center tend to fare better than the primarily vocally-oriented song, which is not to sleight the vocals in the least. Rather, it is to highlight the understated importance of the live instrumental element in the Amateur Night at Club Stupid's musical equation. Experimental doesn't even begin to describe the sonic terrain that the group are plowing here, and the fact that comparable musical groups for comparison are hard to come by speaks volumes about the uniqueness of Amateur Night at Club Stupid have achieved. The fact that the songs range from jangly garage rock, as on the standout Pixies-tinged \"Where is my Gun,\" to the straight-up spoken word hip-hop of the album's opening song demonstrates the true range of the group. Things even get jazzy at times, recalling soundtrack contributions to Cheech & Chong films of years gone by. While it may seem goofy at times, it is important to remember that even stoner anthems are as integral to the cultural fabric in the year 2017 as they were at any point in the 60s and 70s. Indeed, if there is one underlying cultural theme holding this diverse collection of songs together, it is that of the cannabis culture, and the anything-goes aesthetic that accompanies it. There are moments that sound like they could have been lifted straight off an early Santana record, not so much because of any specific guitar virtuosity, but rather because of the psychedelic mind-expanding quality that they conjure in the listener. In short, what Amateur Night at Club Stupid have managed to achieve with this LP is nothing less than the synthesis of over four decades of musical influence, from classic rock psychedelia to modern-day hip-hop and various indie-rock influences for good measure. While no one element musically stands head-and-shoulders above the rest, this says more about the group's ability to play off of each other's strengths, rather than using this musical vehicle to showcase individual talents over those of the entire group. Given that the group have opted to explore such singularly unique sonic terrain, the future is wide open with respect to future possible musical direction for the group. Ultimately, a more stream-lined and genre-specific approach would yield a wider audience and a more mainstream appeal, but it's safe to say that Amateur Night at Club Stupid likely don't concern themselves too much with either of those factors. If anything, the group are likely to keep pushing the sonic boundaries further with each successive release, finding pockets of die- hard followers along the way, who with any luck will stick around with the group for the duration of their sonic journey. Ultimately, Amateur Night at Club Stupid are a group for the musically open-minded, so when things get heavy towards the albums conclusion, it is no more surprising than the decision to open the album with a hip-hop number. If mainstream appeal was the goal for the group, they likely would have opted for a different name and a genre-specific sound. In the year 2017, adhering to a single genre is probably the most stagnant approach a musician could take to their career, so Amateur Night at Club Stupid might surprise everyone and sell multi-platinum units of Better Late Than Whatever, but if not, at least their fans will know that they never compromised their sound for any record labels, radio stations, or hipster online music publications. Long live Amateur Night at Club Stupid.\"

Leks Maltby

http://asidebeside.blogspot.com/





WRITERS

\"Dagnabbit\" and \"Where Is My Gun?\" written by Eric Haugh and Ben Baldwin.



\"Kinky Combat\" written by Charlie Ahanotu, Michael Patterson, Eric Haugh, and Ben Baldwin.



\"I Like It\" written by Eric Haugh, Dan Eskridge, Michael Westberg, Brad Jensen, and Ben Baldwin.



All other songs written by Ben Baldwin.



PERFORMERS

Piano by Victor Baldwin and solo synth by Eric Haugh on \"Where Is My Gun?\".



Live drums performed on \"Unemployment Cha Cha\" and \"Shot Me Dead\" by Johnny Nahabedian. All other live drums performed by Ben Baldwin.



Comedic bits on \"Kinky Combat\" and \"Unemployment Cha Cha\" performed by Craig LeMay.



Live drums recorded by Chris Harris.



Album art by Jim Amato.



Special thanks to John Hammond for giving me his old set of drums to play on the record. Thanks again, buddy! Your generosity gave this project so much more depth and I really appreciate it.



Copyrights held by Ben Baldwin and company through ASCAP.



Released May 31, 2017

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